The Black Knights
by Frogy117
Summary: A group of SBH commandos after finding a strange artifact end up on the World of Remnant. Many adventures and battles lie ahead of them as they struggle with the past and deal with the present.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Hello all this is my first fan fiction so please be weary this might not the best material but I believe it will be a good story This is a RWBY crossover with some Star wars and a bit of Assassins Creed Elements Please submit reviews PMs whatever. Anyways enjoy the first Chapter and Have a happy 4th of July! (Remember " is speaking ' is thoughts) (Side note: Rating changes from T to M after chapter 14)**

**Frogy117 Out**

**Note: This Chapter has been remastered. Chapters 2-5 will also be remastered.**

**Chapter 1: Prologue**

Clone Commander CC-088 was restless. He just sent out a team of SBH Commandos to retrieve a strange artifact but soon received Intel that the artifact was known to mysterious send people to places where they would not be found. Republic insurgents held the artifact, traitors. They began activities when the Separatist threat had been extinguished. These insurgents were slowly causing large threats in a time so close to peace. He tried to contact them but their radios were down. CC-088 was starting to grow restless as he knows that soon they will find the artifact. He only prays that it doesn't activate.

CC-088: "Shadow…Stay vigilant and safe…."

-To the SBH Commandos-

"Scanner says we've got hostiles up ahead," Shadow warned. "But stay alert, we are in the dark here."

"Yes sir!" his team replied.

Shadow knew he picked the right team for this op. All of his teammates well trained men that have given their lives to be here and do what they do. He looked at his teammates. His second in command Jared his most trusted advisor and skilled flyer. There was also GT and TJ both brothers and very good sharp shooters. Then there was Titus the new guy to the SBH squad. SBH always give its new members a little "Initiation" for the first week or so to get him used to the new duties he has. But artifact retrieval wasn't a common thing for all of them and they were getting bored with no contact ever since they landed.

They had no idea which planet they were on. It was a planet that wasn't on any Republic star chart. The only way the intelligence committee found out about it was when the Venator-Class Star Destroyer Altima took down an insurrectionist transport. Through "persuasive" interrogation, one of the crewmembers revealed an operation on an unknown planet.

The Clone Wars was over, the Separatist Council was destroyed, and the Jedi killed the previous Chancellor Palpatine. It turns out he was a Sith. After the war, the "Separatists" (Now just a form of insurrection), managed to launch a massive attack and land troops on Coruscant. Half of the planet belongs to them, but Coruscant wasn't Shadow's biggest problem right now.

Their stealth LAAT dropped Shadow and his team about 10 clicks south of their target. They wanted to keep the element of surprise. After hours of marching down a barren, red wasteland, Shadow led the team to a small hill. As soon as they got to the top, they were all flat on their stomachs. Shadow pulled out his microbinocluars.

"I hope you all are on your game today boys," He said. "Four guards, stationed at the entrance. Heavily armed. E9S's, spread evenly."

"What's the plan?" Jared asked.

"Same as always." Shadow motioned.

_Same as always._ TJ took a sniping position at the ridge while Shadow took the others to the side. Shadow halted his team at a boulder a few meters to the right of the cave.

Shadow gave the signal and all four targets dropped one at a time with no idea what hit them. Immediately, the four cleared the entrance.

"Shots were a bit off to the left brother." GT chuckled as he eyed one of the fallen insurrectionists.

"It's the damn scope," TJ defended on the squad commlink channel. "I don't know how you can properly aim with it. It's too reflective."

"Don't raise your contrast all the way up," Jared advised. "Keep it in the middle."

"Focus," Shadow ended the conversation. "Squad, form up along the sides."

Jared led TJ and GT down the right side of the tunnel and Shadow led Titus down the left. A few seconds passed and they encountered two guards, armed with E5s. Just before Titus gunned them down Shadow quickly stopped him.

"Don't jump the gun," He ordered as he clipped his DC-17M to his belt. "Quick and clean."

Titus followed suit as Shadow nodded to Jared to cover a retreat if neccessary. They all knew what they were doing. The four of them (Shadow, Jared, GT and TJ) have been together for a long time. Shadow crept up behind one and covered his mouth before dragging him back and snapping his neck. Shadow looked up to see that Titus had already dispatched the other guard. Good. He's getting it. Shadow thought. After several more meters down the hallway, they reached an entrance to a large cavern it was heavily armed. Shadow didn't have to switch to nightvision due to the light coming from inside the cavern.

There was no chance for silence now. As soon as they rushed the entrance, they would lose the shadows, along with any form of surprise. Shadow called out the insurrectionist armnants to his squad.

"Eleven men. Four E9Ss, six E5s and an E-Web gunner."

"Entrance is hot," Jared said in surprised. "Intel said minimal resistance."

"Steer clear of the E-Web and there will be minimal resistance." Shadow chuckled as he snapped on his anti-armor attachment.

Shadow took the first shot, letting loose a grenade from his launcher into four guards. Three targets down, one injured. He had taken out one of the E9S gunners. Quickly the tunnel filled with fire as the E-Web gunner with the combined firepower of the E9Ss blew off chunks of rock.

Shadow switched his 17M back into assault rifle mode and started firing 3 round bursts.

"Corridor mawl!" Shadow called out a strategy.

"I hate this one." Jared sighed as he rolled forward exposing himself to the E-Web gunner. The gunner took the bait, leaving a clear shot for GT, already taking aim with his 17M's sniper attachment. With a satisfying drop of a body, the gunner dropped dead. Shadow noticed Jared still in the open, dodging like crazy and fired another grenade at the guards. The remaining two fell back inside the cavern and a large door slid shut behind them.

"Well that's just rude for them to slam a door in our faces isn't it?" Jared joked. "Titus, you wanna show what the Republic does to closed doors?" he ordered.

"With pleasure sir." Titus responded, getting the memo. He quickly moved up to the large metal door and placed his hand against it, trying to guess its thickness. He placed thermal tape in a foot by foot square in the center of the door, then placing a thermal grenade in the center. He must have set the charge to full because the floor rocked below Shadow's feet when he hit the detonator.

Shadow took point. He dived through the opening, shooting down 5 guards. They were still stunned from the blast. Shadow shot left and right. By the time the others got in the room, there were only 3 guards left, along with a handful of technicians who were executed on spot. Shadow and his team were there for retrieval, not information.

"Clear!" Each of his squadmates called out as they secured the room.

"Hey Shadow," Jared called. "You didn't finish this one off." Jared dragged an injured guard towards him. Jared set him on his knees.

"Screw you and your Republic." He cursed with blood dripping from his mouth.

"Your mother didn't teach you to watch your tongue." Shadow shot back.

"Your mother's a droid!"

"Before you assume you know whose life is better," Shadow said as he raised his weapon. "Watch where you stand." With two bolts, the man dropped dead. A red light flashed from the bottom right corner of his visor, signifying him to reload. He dropped the empty clip and slapped a fresh magazine in.

"Sir I believe that is our artifact right there!" Jared pointed.

Shadow looked over to a podium with a floating crystal but it wasn't like any crystal he has ever seen before. It was a crystal with four colors on it. Red, White, Black, Yellow. The insurrectionists had set up data instruments around it for study.

"Strange..." Shadow thought to himself.

"Titus, get the crystal while we remain here." Shadow ordered.

"A-alright sir!" he replied.

Jared's voice came up on a private commlink channel to Shadow. "I still worry for that boy he has only been here a week."

"Don't worry he will adjust in time," Shadow assured. "He is different person in the field trust me."

"Whatever you say." Jared shook his head.

Shadow liked Titus. He was young, skilled and had lots of potential as a soldier. He seemed to be fitting in nicely.

"Sir! The crystal is doing something!" GT cried. He was starting to get alarmed as he saw the crystal pulsing and hovering in the air.

"Titus! What did you do-" Shadow was cut off by a loud shrieking noise and a sharp pain in the back of his head. The room went dark.

Darkness wasn't anything new to Shadow but it felt like he was just in darkness forever before he finally heard something. Wind. He awoke with a powerful headache and in a strange forest.

_Where am I?_

Shadow followed combat procedure reflexively.

"Alright gear check first then contact the team see if they are anywhere around here."

He checked his gear to find he has his SBH Commando armor which was all black with a red visor. He has twin DC17B pistols, DC17M that can be changed into a sniper rifle and a grenade launcher, a strange sword he never had, and two gauntlets with hidden blades powered by Kyber crystals.

_Strange… _He thought to himself only remembering packing a DC17M and a pistol not evening having these hidden blades and the sword.

Shadow attempted to contact his squad on their private link."Can anyone hear me? Jared? GT? TJ? Titus?" No answer besides static.

_Great…They are either dead or out of contact…I'm all alone… on a strange world… If only I-_

A loud roar in the distance and a few screams that sounded like girls suddenly caught him off.

_Those girls are in trouble!_

He then ran towards the sound of the screams. He didn't think twice about it. He was a soldier, and he would help anyone in need.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hello everyone here is Chapter 2! Enjoy review whatever. Enjoy! Forgot to mention RWBY is owned by

Roosterteeth and Star wars elements are owned by Disney/Lucasfilms and AC elements are owned by Ubisoft.

Frogy117 Out

(This Chapter has been revised)

Chapter 2

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Shadow ran through the forest, searching for the source of the sound. Turning up the audio of his surroundings, he heard the sound of combat. Shadow made his way through the brush as quickly as possible, reaching an opening. Then, he found what he was looking for.

Four girls were fighting strange monsters. The monsters were like nothing he'd seen before. There were five large, black, bear like creatures, each the size of a gundark, each of them with a strange white mask with red markings over their face, or so Shadow thought it was a mask. It seemed to merge with everything else. A loud screech alerted Shadow to the large, bird like creature attacking from above. It black, like the others, and had the same "white mask" with red markings. It was massive, about the size of an LAAT, but what interested Shadow more were the girls.

The girls all wore different colours, brandishing different weapons and fighting styles. They fought so differently than what Shadow was used to seeing. They were fast, strong, and... durable? Shadow was surprised when one of them took a hard punch from one of the bear like creatures, a punch that could've snapped a man's neck, only to roll back onto her feet and charge again.

The colors they were dressed in were red, white, black, and yellow. The one in red with shoulder length hair seemed to be the youngest. She wore a minidress with a puffy skirt with red trimmings, and on top of that, wore a red hood and cloak. She was fast, zipping in and around the monsters, wielding a large red Scythe that seemed to be capable of transforming. The muzzle flashes from the weapon indicated a built in gun.

The one who wore primarily white had a white, thigh lengthed dress with a bolero style jacket over it. Her hair was long and white, pulled into an off center ponytail. With her pale complexion, Shadow could see clearly from here that she had icy blue eyes. She fought with a rapier type sword with some revolving mechanism build into the guard. She seemed to be capable of summoning strange glyphs, using them to speed up her lunges or use them as mid air platforms. Her rapier seemed capable of shooting lances of unknown energy.

The one that wore black had a white sleeveless short on with a black vest that exposes her shirt from the center of her torso and up. She wore black leggings that tinted to purple as they reached her ankles. Shadow noticed on top of her black wavy hair, she wore a black bow on top. She seemed to be capable of cloning herself. An image of her is left behind as she dodged an attack, as a decoy to hide her intended strike. She wielded a sword and a cleaver like sheath, dual wielding the two. At one point, she attached the sheath to a metal plate on her back and turned her sword into a pistol, shooting at a bear like creature and throwing it. With a blade protruding from the rear, it worked as a kusarigama weapon, holding it by a black ribbon.

Finally, the one with blonde hair. She wore a yellow, low cut cropped shirt with a brown jacket over it with puffy short sleeves. Over her shorts, she wore a brown belt that almost formed into a skirt over her as symmetrical white skirt under it. Noticeably wearing knee high brown boots, her weapons were a pair of yellowish gold gauntlets with a revolving mechanism built into the wrist area, leading up to a hidden silver barrel that could fire kinetic rounds. Seeming like forearm shotguns, they still didn't seem to shoot projectiles, instead kinetic lances of energy replicating fire. She fought with a more hand to hand combat style replicating a mix of boxing or kickboxing.

The four girls moved as a team, and by the time Shadow had scanned the battlefield, they had taken out three of the bear like monsters. Shadow almost didn't intervene with the amount of skill they displayed, but then Shadow saw the girl dressed in red take a hard hit to the gut. She was thrown back, her weapon leaving her.

"Ruby!" The blonde haired girl called out to her companion.

Shadow drew his DC-17M, ignoring the newly picked up sword he had attached to his back. He charged out of the tree line, firing at the bear like monsters about to attack the girl named Ruby. Single shots didn't appear to put the creature down fast, so he switched to automatic, spraying at the monster until it fell over and died. Out of distraction of their fallen comrade, the bird like creature had swooped down and knocked over the other three girls. Shadow turned to see the same bird like creature swooping low, coming straight at him. Shadow got into a crouched position and opened up on it, aiming for the head. The blue bolts did nothing more than irritate or stun it as it changed course, flying up into the sky to recover.

_Wham!_

Shadow took a hard punch to the back as a bear like creature knocked him into the dirt. Shadow lost grip of his DC-17M, rolling out of the way from the monster's ground pound. Shadow drew his sidearms, firing away. The monster stumbled over, throwing a blind swing. Shadow easily ducked under it and fired at the kneecaps of its hind legs. The bear like creature fell to all fours. Shadow didn't have the chance to finish it off, as the other bear like monster charged. Shadow dived out of the way, letting the beast ram straight into a tree, knocking it down, regardless of the thick trunk. Shadow was glad he wasn't the tree.

The downed bear got up now, charging at Shadow. Shadow took aim carefully now, firing at the under section, normally where creature's hides were the thinnest. It worked, as blue bolts penetrated the creature's area where the chest met the neck. It toppled over still and unmoving. Shadow turned to face the other monster, towering right over him. As it came down for a ground pound, Shadow rolled through its legs, narrowly dodging the attack. Shadow whirled and started firing his sidearms at the back of the monster. A slight twitch in its shoulder tipped Shadow off of a spinning low attack. Shadow jumped as the paw went for his legs, but he wasn't ready for the mid air punch that got him right in the chest.

Shadow was thrown into a tree, feeling the crack of wood on impact. He fell to a crouch, clutching his chest from the attack. It not for the armor, his ribs would've been cracked. Shadow looked up at the approaching monster with blurry vision. He realized he had lost his sidearms in the strike, and couldn't bring himself to stand. As the bear like creature approached, the girl in red jumped at it into a two footed kick, getting it right in the side. The monster reeled over from the attack, then just merely backhanded the girl away, sending her flying into the grass. The monster turned its attention back onto Shadow, looking at him with burning red eyes.

Shadow had finally recovered enough to stand, but he didn't have anything to defend himself. Or did he? Shadow drew the newly acquired sword. It had some weight to it, enough to throw some heavy blows, but still light enough to perform short and fast attacks. Shadow faced the monster as it charged on its hind legs, its paw coming high into a slash. Shadow spun and struck as hard as he could. To Shadow's surprise, the monster reeled over, with a large gash from its left shoulder to its right hip. It stepped back and eyed Shadow in anger. Shadow didn't give it the chance to recover, charging into three more heavy slashes, ending the monster's life.

A loud ear piercing screech turned Shadow's attention to the now approaching bird like monster, swooping low for another strike. Then, shots started hitting it from its left side. Shadow saw the girl in black, firing her weapon in its pistol mode, aiming for the neck. The bird like creature dipped to its right as it continued its low flight, but Shadow saw the girl in white ready a glyph, used by the blonde girl to launch herself at the Bird. Firing her gauntlet like weapons and using the recoil to launch herself faster, she spun into a pinning attack, landing elbow first right on top of the birdlike creature's neck, sending it plummeting and crashing into the dirt, skidding to halt in front of Shadow. The monster screeched weakly and tried to get up but the blonde girl jumped up and pounded the monster in the head, knocking it down. It wasn't dead yet, and Shadow didn't want it to recover.

"Open its mouth!" Shadow demanded, feeling his belt for a thermal grenade.

The blonde girl obeyed, strangling and rappelling around the monster's head, finally prying the beast's beak open. It let out a loud screech of discomfort at Shadow primed and tossed the grenade into its mouth.

"Get down!" Shadow called out and dived away from the monster's head.

_Boom!_

The heatwave of the blast finally passed over him and the debris cleared. Strangely, Shadow did not find him looking at corpses. He was looking at dark, matter like substances, slowly disintegrating, disappearing. Not believing what he was seeing, he walked over to the spot where the large bird like creature laid a few moments ago. Shadow felt the ground, even letting his tactical instruments on his HUD scan the ground. It was absolutely gone. 

"Who are you?…" Shadow heard the girl named Ruby speak.

Shadow turned to see Ruby clutching her side. Shadow didn't answer the question, instead changing the topic with, "Hold still. I'm going to give you something to treat your wounds."

"I'm fine." Ruby assured.

"If that were the case, you wouldn't be clutching your side, now would you?"

With a moment of struggle of Ruby, Shadow gave a her a bacta injection after pulling a syringe from his pack. Without saying much more, Shadow retrieved his dropped weapons.

"I asked who are you?" Ruby pushed.

Shadow didn't really know whether it was a good idea to reveal who he was and where he was from.

"I believe the appropriate term is _it_, Ruby." The blonde girl spoke. "It's probably something from Atlas."

"Not that I know of." The girl in white shrugged.

Shadow realized they referred to him as _it_; as a thing. The armor sometimes had that effect on people. But already, Shadow noticed a few things wrong. First of all, Shadow had never heard of these monsters. Flash training should've at least covered a small section of animals. Second of all, they didn't recognize he was a Clone trooper. He may be wearing the black, covert, shadow black hole armor, but a Clone trooper was still recognizable as a clone trooper. If they couldn't call it right away, they either for some reason don't recognize him, or don't know what a clone trooper is. If they don't know about the clone trooper is, then they don't know what the Clone Wars was. And if they didn't know about the Clone Wars, that meant he was a very, _very_, long way from home. Another side of this, is the fact that they might think of him as a droid, and are very comfortable around him, implying they are remnants of the CIS, making them enemies. It was best to figure this out, before he started to trust.

"First of all," Shadow started. "I'm not a droid. Second of all, you can call me Shadow. Thirdly, what planet am I on?"

"Where else?" The girl in white scoffed.

"I think that Ursa knocked him in the head just a bit too hard." The blonde joked.

"Maybe I did," Shadow said annoyed. "Answer the question."

"The only place you _can_ be," The girl in white crossed her arms. "_Remnant_."

_Remnant?_ Shadow had never heard of a planet named Remnant, and Shadow had learned about a lot of planets during his time on Kamino and during missions of the Clone Wars. He also never recalled it being on any Republic star charts. Then again, it was the same thing with the planet he was previously on.

"So who are you?" Shadow asked.

"I'm Ruby," Ruby stated. "This is my sister, Yang," She motioned to the blonde girl. "This is Weiss," She motioned to the girl in white. "And that's Blake." She motioned to the last girl in black.

"And the acronym forms RWBY!" Yang added. "Which is who we are. Team RWBY."

Shadow thought for a few moments, confused.

"That doesn't spell correctly." He snorted.

"R-W-B-Y," Ruby spelt it out. "RWBY, pronounced _ruby_."

"And, that is important?"

"Of course it's important. We're _Huntresses_." Ruby boasted, as if the title was one of respect and honor.

"-In training." Weiss corrected.

"Close enough." Ruby bickered at Weiss.

Shadow's eyes scanned the girl in black, the one named Blake. She was pretty, having a more sleek feminine feel in her attire and posture. He could notice her features now, seeing wide, yellowish golden eyes.

_Focus_.

Shadow shook off the thought and returned to his training. He didn't realize he had been clicking through his commlink channel, trying to link up with his squad. All he was getting is static.

_Get to civilization. _

"Right, well, do any of you know the location of closest town or village?" Shadow asked.

"That would be Vale." Blake answered.

"C'mon!" Ruby beckoned. "Our airship is going to pick us up soon."

-

The ship they had rode to the school team RWBY went to was not very impressive. He couldn't tell what it used for propulsion or how it was designed. All he knew it that it was inferior compared to the Grand Army of the Republic's Low Altitude Assault Transport, otherwise known as the LAAT. The school the girls attended was designed to train warriors, having a prestigious reputation for its graduates. Weiss had pretty much explained everything Shadow needed to know for now.

Shadow stepped off the boarding ramp and onto the stone tiled ground. The school wad massive, having many buildings over the property. It was close to the size of the Republic base on Coruscant, with one noticeable high standing clock tower in the center. Shadow scanned the area, seeing many males and females in their late teens. They all wore armor and different colors. It was like the entire place was an expressionist painting. Shadow's train of thought was interrupted by a shout from Yang. The group was already meters ahead of him, leading him into the campus.

"Beacon Academy?" Shadow guessed.

"So you were listening to me on the ride." Weiss smiled.

"Not like I had a choice with a cold voice striking my ears." Shadow joked.

Weiss flashed him a glare, followed by a laugh by Ruby.

"C'mon," Blake sighed. "We gotta take him to Professor Ozpin."

"We can't just leave him be?" Yang shrugged.

"You could," Shadow said eagerly. "Just point me to a communication center and I'm gone."

"I'm pretty sure Ozpin won't be happy that we found a random person in the forest, brought him to the city, and let him go free." Blake shook her head.

"Yeah," Weiss agreed. "For all we know he could be a terrorist or something." She scowled.

"Alright." Yang sighed.

"Let's go!" Ruby led the way.

Shadow felt uncomfortable all the way to the center of the campus, housing a large castle-like clock tower in the center. In broad daylight, walking around in his Shadow black hole armor, he felt every impulse in his body wanting to cling to the shadows. Ignoring it, he followed the group into the base of the tower, which was much larger than he originally thought. The elevator took them all the way to the top floor, all the way to a room.

_No,_ Shadow thought, _An office_.

"Miss Rose?" A middle aged man sat at a desk. "Miss's Schnee, Belladonna and Xiao long?" the man wore a black suit with a dark green scarf around his neck with a cross emblem in the center. He had tussled grey hair and shaded spectacles, resting them on the bridge of his nose rather than utilizing them. Shadow's observation skills told him that Ozpin was probably far sighted.

"Hello Professor Ozpin." Ruby greeted.

"Students, you were not summoned." A woman in the room said. She seemed younger than Ozpin, still retaining blond hair tied in a bun with a curl hanging from the right of her face, yet her voice was one with experience. Other than the oval shaped glasses she wore over her piercing green eyes, she wore a white, long sleeved shirt with a business skirt and stockings running down to her heeled boots.

"Sorry, did we walk in in something important? Ruby asked apologetically.

"No, we aren't busy." Ozpin waved her off. "While your arrival is unexpected, it is not unwelcome." Ozpin seemed to look past Ruby, looking straight at Shadow. "But who, or what did you bring with you?"

Despite Shadow's training and experience, Ozpin's voice slithered through his ears as if he was drinking a cool glass of milk. It was something similar to the voice of experienced Jedi Masters he served under during the Clone Wars.

"I'm really tired of being called a robot." Shadow sighed and reluctantly removed his helmet. "I'm flesh and blood."

Ozpin looked at Shadow carefully. It was like every single thing Shadow had, whether it was his facial features or his gear and equipment, it told parts of a story.

"And you are?" Ozpin asked.

"Two questions before I answer yours." Shadow pushed, keeping a hand close to his sidearm. "Have you ever heard of the Galactic Republic or the Confederacy of Independent Systems?"

"No." Ozpin cocked his eyebrow in confusion. "Should we have?"

Shadow let out a short sigh of relief. He wasn't in enemy territory. He was still far away from home though, but he wasn't in any immediate danger. That was good.

"It doesn't entirely matter," Shadow moved on. "My second question is what star system are we in?"

Ozpin and the woman exchanged glances in confusion.

"What?" Ozpin responded.

That, was a bad answer. Shadow did not wish to reveal everything about who he was due to the fact he didn't know these people.

"I see." Shadow brushed on. "Well, I am a Shadow trooper in the Grand Army of the Galactic Republic. I am ranked Marshal Commander and am designated CC-1946-86, but you can call me Shadow. That's all I'm authorized to say."

Shadow froze, realizing he shouldn't have said the last line. He was trained to only say that entire message during interrogations, and he has just said it for no reason.

"Authorized?" Weiss scoffed.

"You sure he ain't a robot?" Yang joked.

"A _soldier_." Ozpin stated, scanning Shadow from head to toe. "From where?"

"The Grand Army of the Galactic Republic." Shadow answered.

"Can't say I've heard of it."

"Can't say I've heard of this place either." Shadow said back. "Nothing like those creatures out there."

"Yes," Ozpin nodded. "They're called _Grimm_."

There was a brief moment of silence before Shadow said, "Look, I just need a way to contact my friends and I'll be on my-"

"There are only _four_ kingdoms on Remnant, Shadow." Ozpin stated. "I'm curious to know why we haven't heard of this, Republic."

"Was it not obvious when I asked about star systems?"

"So how did you get here?"

Shadow did not wish to explain details of his mission, so he went for a semi truthful answer.

"Well," Shadow started. "I was investigating a disturbance received by my Commanding officer and went to check it out. We found a crystal, and the next thing I knew, I woke up here."

"We found him in the forest," Blake spoke out. "We were fighting Grimm, and he came out and helped us."

"Saved Ruby as well." Yang added, patted Ruby's head. Ruby shook off the gesture.

"Well, your help is appreciated." Ozpin nodded. "For your gratitude, you are welcome to stay at the school until you find a way back to your home."

"Thanks, but I'd think it'd be better if I just commu-"

"And I would let you contact your friends," Ozpin stated. "But first I'd like to verify your story."

"Not trusted already?" Shadow raised an eyebrow.

"Security reasons." Ozpin explained. "In light of recent events, it would be wise for you to be investigated first."

Shadow did not like this one bit, but judging by the warriors the girls were, it was likely that the rest of the students were of the same magnitude. For now, it would be wise to play by their rules.

"Understood." Shadow nodded.

"Shadow, you can stay in the empty dorm next to Team RWBY." Ozpin said. "Girls, if you would be so kind to show Shadow to his quarters."

"Just follow us!" Yang beckoned and led the way.

Shadow did his best to hide the frustration in his face, deciding to put his helmet on. He followed the group into the elevator, where they would lead him to his accommodations. In this time, he would have to wait, and hope Jared and the others were all right.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Chapter 3 is here! Also please make the reviews helpful instead of just saying good job or Keep it up but those are taken to heart as well. Anyways enjoy chapter 3.

Frogy117 Out

Chapter 3

Shadow: 'This scroll here is very helpful for communications' thought shadow as he was reading the message from Ozpin to stay in the Dorm next to team RWBY. He decided to go see what his team was up to so he walked in the door to see what was up.

Shadow: "Hey guys what's up?"

Ruby: "Nothing much but…."

Shadow: "But what?"

He noticed that everyone was kind of looking around him and all of that but then he realized they still had some questions for him.

Shadow: "I know you all have questions so go ahead and ask.

Weiss: "What role did you play with your team when you went to retrieve the artifact?"

Shadow: "I was the team leader due to the fact I have the most experience as a leader and for being one of the oldest SBH"

Blake: "I know the military has ranks what was yours if your military had ranks?"

Shadow: "I was a Marshall Commander the only people higher than me were the Generals and the Supreme Commander himself. "

Ruby was fidgeting in excitement and Yang told him that she was so into weapons so he guessed that is what she wanted to see.

Shadow: "Ruby you want to see my weapons in action don't you?"

Ruby: "YES YES YES YES"

Shadow: "I will show you in time now is there any other questions?"

The girls said nothing.

Shadow: "Im off to bed see you all tomorrow."

Shadow went into his room thinking that these people were now his closest friends but the guilt of him leading that team into a artifact he knew potentially could take them somewhere where no one would find them and decided to not be cautious. He felt like it was his fault. As he slept he had many dreams of his team and horrible nightmares. But there was one that caught his attention.

In the dream he was standing on a podium tied down and people were spitting on him and kicking him and punching him, and calling him butcher and a failure to the republic. Then he saw a big man carrying a mace and was running towards him screaming. Shadow quickly got up and pulled out his weapon but then he heard what the man was actually saying.

"Shadow! Wake up! Wake up!"

Shadow then suddenly awoke only to find he was pointing a weapon at a very terrified looking Blake. From the way the light was it seemed like very early morning.

Shadow: "Blake what are you doing here?!"

Blake: "I heard you yelling and screaming from the top of your lungs so I came to see what was going on. It sounds like you were having a nightmare."

Shadow: "Yeah I was….."

Blake: "Do you want to talk about it?"

Shadow: "Blake I'm fine now please go back to your dorm I don't want you getting hurt…"

Blake exited the dorm and Shadow spent the rest of the morning making sure his weapons and armor were in good condition. He was going to do something daring at his combat training class. He was going to take on a entire team using his fists. But then he remembered that he had a couple other classes before that. So he would have to wait.

The morning bell sounded and Shadow walked with team RWBY for their first class of the day, Grimm Studies with Professor Port. The good thing that Shadow didn't have to do was wear a uniform because he talked about how SBH almost never take their armor off no matter what. Shadow was falling sleeping due to the boring tales of Professor Port. When suddenly Port asks him this.

Port: "Do you have what it takes to be a Hunter?"

Shadow: "Of course I do…"

Port: "Then come down and face your enemy!"

Shadow smirked as he got up and walked to the front of the class and faced a rather large cage from the looks of it he would be fighting a Beowolf.

Port: "Begin!" As he sliced the cage open revealing one of the strongest Beowolfs a very high class one.

Ruby: "You can do it Shadow!"

Shadow remembered Ruby wanted to see the rest of his weapons so he decided to start off with the Twin pistols. He shot quite a few rounds into the creatures legs to slow him down. Then he took out his DC17M and fired a few rounds into his face one of them striking his eye and stunning him for a second. He used this time to change his weapon into a sniper rifle and took out the other eye. Then he changed it once again into a Grenade launcher and aimed for hip and blew up his legs and hip. The creature roared and started to swing wildly managing to hit shadow but his armor protected him from the attack. He then jumped up and activated his hidden blades and stabbed the creature in the jugular killing the creature instantly. He then put his weapons away and walked back to his desk. The whole class was stunned to see what just happened."

Port: "That was the first time I have seen a student take out that high of a Beowolf so quickly and without injury. Good work! Class dismissed!"

Shadow walked out where he was meet by a very execited team RWBY.

Ruby: "THAT WAS AWESOME SHADOW!"

Weiss: "Did you have to blow its legs off?"

Shadow: "Yes…"

Yang: "Good work shadow now we got Combat Training."

Shadow started grinning as they had no idea what he was about to do.

Yang: "Shadow are you alright?"

Shadow: "Yes Yang I'm just fine..."

-To Combat Training class-

Goodwitch: "You will be facing one opponent at a time now next up is-

Shadow raised his hand

Goodwitch: "Yes shadow?"

Shadow: "If you don't mind I would like to face a entire team." Everyone was murmuring and going like "Is he insane" Shadow then added "And I want to face them without my weapons just with my bare hands" Everyone gasped at the last part.

Goodwitch: "Shadow are you su-"

Shadow "I'm positive"

Goodwitch then called team CRDL down to face Shadow. Before he walked to the Arena he was met by Blake.

Blake: "Shadow please be careful"

Shadow: "I don't need to be I will be fine"

Shadow walked onto the arena and waited for the counter to go down. After a minute the bell rang and team CRDL charged him with their weapons of course. Shadow then waited for one of them to get close then he grabbed his weapon and disarmed him then kicked him so hard that he flew past the arena and out the window that happened to be open. Then He took another one and picked him up and spun and them him into another one of the teammates knocking them both out instantly. Then Cardin stood there and Shadow was waiting for him to make a move but then Shadow was surprised at what Cardin started to say.

Cardin: "So the brave Shadow can fight. Tell me this Shadow do you think you can lead after what you did to your teammates? Your actions caused them to get separated and I bet they are dead you are a FAILURE and you know what else? You're a Butcher!" Cardin said this and started laughing.

Shadow: 'NOW HE IS GOING TO PAY'

Shadow: Then Ran so fast at Cardin he didn't have time to react before being met by a fist that knocked him to the middle of the arena. He tried to get up but then saw a big black ball of fire coming down towards him and then noticed Shadow body slamming him. He then was met by a series of punches to the face. By the time it was over Cardin was beaten to a bloody pulp and was bleeding out. Shadow then walked past the crowd and out of the room to the Emerald forest as he learned where he was.

-Blake POV-

'He must be taken getting separated by his team hard… I guess that is what his nightmare was about…But I think I'm falling for Shadow for some reason. I must go see where he went I'm worried about him.'

Yang: "Blake where are you going?"

Blake didn't say anything as she went out the classroom and followed shadow. Blake then walked out and instantly heard yelling. She went to a tree and was watching a very angry shadow just punching a tree and yelling.

Shadow: "IT'S MY FAULT. I GOT MY TEAM KILLED AND NOW EVERYONE THINKS IM A PSYCHOPATH GOD DANG IT!"

'I didn't know he would be hurting this bad about it.' Thought Blake

She decided to be brave and walk up to him.

-Shadow POV-

Shadow heard footsteps and was about to wail a punch to whoever it was until he heard it was Blake's voice. "Shadow calm down please"

Shadow for some reason started to calm down. Normally it would take Jared to calm him down otherwise his anger would have had to run its course. But something about Blake just calmed him down.

Shadow: "I'm sorry you had to see that Blake I sometimes lose my mind when I get very angry. People think I'm a psycho now."

Blake: "No they don't Shadow they heard what Cardin said and they know about what happened they understand."

Shadow: 'I have come to the conclusion that these strange feeling I have are from me falling in love with Blake might as well tell her now and not keep secrets"

Shadow: "B-Blake there is something I have to confess"

Blake: "What is it Shadow"

Shadow: 'WHY ARE YOU NERVOUS SHADOW YOU CAN JUST CONFESS IT YOU ARE A SBH'

Blake: "Shadow is something-" She was cut off by Shadow pulling her in for a quick peck on the lips and then hugged her."

Shadow: "Blake I-I- he was cut off as Blake pulled him in for a kiss this time a more passionate one.

Blake: "Shadow I love you too"

Shadow for the first time in years smiled and hugged Blake.

Shadow: "Let's get back to the others shall we?"

Blake nodded and they headed back to Beacon together with their new found relationship.

A/N: THIS IS NOT A ROMANCE STORY. It's a every now and then thing. Next Chapter will most likely be tomorrow so stay tuned!


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Chapter 4! Four chapters in one day! Anyways I hope you had a great 4th. Anyways remember RWBY is owned by RoosterTeeth AC elements are owned by Ubisoft and Star wars related things are owned by Disney/Lucasfilms. I don't own any of the company's content. (Sorry for it being short!) Frogy117 Out**

**Chapter 4**

Shadow is walking through the halls of beacon with his team when suddenly he gets a ping on his scroll. It is a message saying "Meet at the Vale Docks you'll need to see this"

Shadow: 'Strange…'

Blake: "Shadow are you alright?"

Shadow: "We need to go to the Vale docks."

Weiss: "Now why would we need to go to that kind of place."

Shadow: "Something tells me I need to.."

-Later at the docks-

Yang: "Shadow has been gone for almost 2 hours now where did he go off to?"

Blake: "I'm still worry for him." Blake showed concern for her boyfriend.

Suddenly a screech of a eagle was heard

Ruby: "Guys someone is on top of that crane! ITS SHADOW!"

Everyone turned to look up and saw Shadow sit there. Then the next moment he jumped free fall style into a Trashcan full of soft foam. He got out unscathed.

Blake: "DON'T YOU SCARE ME LIKE SHADOW"

Shadow smirked: "Yeah but I needed to do something to distract you guys"

Yang: "Distract..?"

Suddenly two black figures came out of the trashcan Shadow jumped into but there armor looked like Shadow but there looked more of a lower grade than his. They heard footsteps behind them and turned to see two more of the same figures one of them was the first to speak.

Jared: "Sir thank god we found you!"

Shadow ignored him and introduced team RWBY: "This is team RWBY, This is Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang.

Jared came and shook each ladies hand: "I'm Jared. I advise Shadow and keep him in check for when he goes angry. And I'm also his second in command for the squad."

Shadow: "Sorry to say Jared but you're not the only one that keeps me in check anymore.

Jared: "Yeah there isn't anyone that can calm you down unless they were like your girlfri-

As he was about to speak more Shadow pulled Blake in a embrace and pecked her on the cheek.

Jared: "Nevermind…" *Suppresses laughter*

The other SBH stood speechless until one of them broke the silence

GT: I'm Commander GT this is my Brother Commander TJ (Nodding to TJ)

TJ: "Hello. Nice to meet each of you."

Titus: "I'm Titus I am the newest recruit to the SBH."

Jared: "Why haven't they asked about SBH yet?"

Team RWBY: "Shadow."

Jared: "Figures"

Shadow: So will you tell us what happened to you?"

Jared: "It's quite a story and some stuff has happened to us like it has to you now listen closely…."


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Chapter 5 is here! Yay! This might be the only chapter or one of two for today so stay tuned!.

Frogy117 Out!

Chapter 5

-Flashback-

Jared wakes up and relies he is not dead as he previously thought.

Jared: 'Where am I'

Then Jared notices GT and TJ ended up with him but the only two that were not with them were Team Leader Shadow and Titus.

GT: "Sir we all have some equipment we have never had before."

Jared looks down and notices that he has a interchangeable DC17 a shotgun and a two dual wield Katana's.

Jared: "These weapons are strange maybe they will help us in the future."

Jared looks at GT and TJ and notices they have the same gear he has except TJ has a sword that has yellow fire coming out of it and GT has the same thing.

Jared is alarmed once he hears footsteps behind him and the others. Very loud footsteps. He turns around to see 5 large bear like creatures but not like any he has seen before. He assumed they were hostile creatures so he pulled out his Katana's and to see what they could do. Sudden the Katana' blades broke apart and were replaced by two black colored sword blades that glowed a strange energy. The largest of the creature that looked like a Alpha charged the three commandos but Jared stopped its charge with a sword to its chest. Then he sliced its arm off and finished him off with a blade in the throat.

GT went for two smaller ones using his shotgun to blast one of them back quite a bit and killed him instantly. He scared the other one away while TJ sliced the heads of his two targets.

GT: "Well that was easy."

TJ: "I don't think our fight is over just ye" (TJ says while pointing to the sky)

Jared and GT turn to see about 4 bird like creatures with the same configuration as the bear like creatures they just fought. Jared ordered the others to be ready to fire but then saw a bright flash and one of the birds went down. Jared noticed that it didn't come from them. Then he saw a hail of plasma arrows come down on the other two and killed one of them. Finally Jared saw a figure fly into the air and with a Sword and Shield defeated the last bird. Jared then saw it was none other than the newest recruit Titus.

Titus: "Sounds like I got here just in time to help you guys."

Jared: 'Shadow made a good choice to pick this kid for the team.'

Titus then asks: "Where is Shadow?"

Jared then noticed that Shadow was nowhere near them.

Jared: "There is a city around here lets search that area and see if we can find him"

-Two days later-

TJ: "Still we haven't found him maybe it- Hold on there is someone flying in the air from that school from the window going to intercept."

Jared: "Alright ask him if he knows about shadow. Titus go assist TJ."

-After a few minutes-

TJ: "Sir you're not going to believe this."

Jared: "What is it?"

Titus: "Well apparently Shadow goes to Beacon now after he saved a team of girls in the forest and from the description Shadow has black fire semblance and is at its strongest when angered. He also said that he has a sword with the semblance on it and has a dc17m and twin pistols and his armor doesn't look like ours. But the description matches Shadow.

Jared: "Ask him if he could send a message to Shadow to meet at the docks."

Titus: "He said he could but it would take a bit for Shadow to get it"

Jared: "Alright lets meet him there."

TJ: "Also Shadow apparently is part of a team at Beacon he is a official student there part of team RWBYs the same team of the people he saved in the forest."

GT: "Anything else?"

Titus: "Not really we will see you guys over there."

Jared: "Alright."

-Flashback over-

And that is how we found you. Said Jared

Shadow: "So you guys got your semblance to my guess is Titus is to summon arrows and roman style weapons along with his own weapons. GT and TJ are fire and you Jared have a sword of darkness,"

Jared: "I think that sums it up."

Ruby: "So are we going to take them to Ozpin as well?"

GT: "Ozpin?"

Shadow: "The Headmaster at Beacon."

Jared: "Beacon?"

Shadow: "Everything will be explained there just follow us."

-End of chapter 5-


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

(( AUDIENCE BE ADVISED: when we use apostrophes ('hi') that means the character is thinking it. When we use a quotation mark ("hi") that means the character is saying it. Just so you know. Feel free to enjoy, this chapter was made by the character that makes up "Jared," enjoy!~

-3rd Person Omniscient POV-

Jared, GT and TJ are sitting in Professor Ozpin's office, confused about the world that they are in and what might await them.

Ozpin: "So you are Shadow's squadmates who were lost until recent events occurred...?"

GT: "Yes sir. When we were transported here, everyone was accounted for... except for Shadow. He was nowhere to be found.

Ozpin: "I see. Well you are welcome to stay and study at Beacon just as your squad leader has. Feel free to go get some food and rest, I assume your body craves it."

Jared: "Thank you, Headmaster. I think we'll take you up on that."

-Jared 3rd Person Point of View-

The squad, now reunited, walks out of Headmaster Ozpin's office and starts walking towards the cafeteria. On the way there, team RWBY sees the squad and walks and talks with them.

Blake: "So you're Shadow's squadmates? You look the part but so far I haven't seen the part."

Jared: "If it's a 1 on 1 or team vs team you want, miss, just ask anytime. I'm always ready for something to fight for."

'Huh,' Jared thought, 'these girls are most definitely no normal young women. I should tread carefully when insulting or taunting.'

-3rd Person Omniscient POV-

The group finally made it to the cafeteria: the smell of food and the vibe of unity &amp; joy was everywhere. It felt like home.

Once the group got their food (Shadow got some sort of soup with mashed potatoes, Jared had Steak and mixed vegetables, whilst GT and TJ both had lunches they pre-made back on the cruiser: Freos and Titus just had some Steak) they chatted about what had happened before the group reunited with Shadow. After a short time, team RWBY also managed to purchase their food and make their way to their table. It was strange how much the two ran into each other.

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

'Man, this steak is actually really well cooked! I wonder how they cooked it...' Jared was eating his steak carnivoriously as he always did. He never really liked vegetables but his diet required him to eat them regardless. As he ate his food, he spotted team RWBY coming towards them. He noticed one in particular, the blonde one which he was not introduced to yet, and he didn't know why. 'Must be the light or something...'

Shadow: "Oh! I never introduced you formally to team RWBY quite yet. Allow me to introduce red riding hood over there, Ruby Rose. She's super nice and loves weaponry and fighting."

Ruby: "Hi, nice to meet you. I hope that we can battle side by side within the near future!" she said quite energetically.

'She seems nice and quirky,' Jared noted.

Shadow: "The white haired heiress is Weiss Schnee. She's the Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. One of the most influential and wealthy companies on Remnant."

Weiss: "The pleasure is mine."

'Hmph, acts like a princess, quite stuck up, but seems confident,' Jared quickly noticed.

Shadow: "This little sweetheart is my lady-friend Blake Belladonna." Jared watched with some discomfort as Shadow kissed her cheek and hugged her.

Blake blushes and smiles from Shadow's actions...

'Oh god, why. Just why...' Jared was quickly in dismay towards the affection the two displayed to each other.

Shadow: "Lastly, but certainly not least, this is Yang Xiao Long. The stronger than usual, vain and very much so interesting woman "artillary cannon" of team RWBY."

Yang: "Heya. Hope to get to know you boys soon, you seem quite fun!"

Jared: 'Wow... something quite interesting about this one. I'll try to keep the thought of her in mind for later investigation.'

Jared: "Well it's quite interesting to meet you all. My name is Jared, I'm Shadow's second in command and pilot of the Shadow Black Hole division of the Grand Army of the Republic. I like long walks on the beach and-"

His speech was cut short by Shadow slapping him on the back of the head for making a bad joke. He chuckled heartily as the girls giggled at the cheesey joke before continuing.

Jared: "And this is GT and TJ. These two are long-standing members of the Grand Army of the Republic and are actually brothers.

Gt: "A pleasure to meet you girls."

Tj: "Hi... how nice to meet you four."

Jared: "And then the newest recruit Titus!"

Titus: "Good to meet all of you."

Jared: "Phew. Well now that introductions are over, how's the food everyone?"

-3rd Person Omniscient POV-

The two teams continued to small talk until dinner time was over. After dinner, Jared went to go wash his hands as he had smashed his hands into Shadow's mashed potatoes as a practical joke to which everyone but Shadow laughed at. Shadow actually slapped Jared in the face with his own Steak.

-3rd Person Jared POV-

Jared was on his way out of the cafeteria, he was taking a left out into the hall whilst thinking about dinner... and that Yang pers-

Yang: "Whoa!"

Yang had accidentally ran into Jared as he had come around the corner and was about to hit the floor. Jared thankfully dextrously caught Yang by her hip.

Jared: "You alright...?" Jared was blushing because of how embarrassing the situation was, and was also wondering how the next few minutes would happen...

Yang: "Yeah, nice catch..." Yang seemed to be surprised from the instance that just occurred. Did it actually happen?

Jared: "Merci," Jared replied in French, "where's your dorm at? I'll walk you back."

Yang: "How kind of you. I think I'll take you up on that offer."

The two start to walk back towards Yang's dorm. Jared is feeling quite nervous around this girl, as he has never been good with girls.

Jared: "So uhhh... Yang, right?"

Yang: "Yup, and if I remember rightly, you're Shadow's second in command, Jared?"

Jared: "That'd be me!"

Jared was feeling quite out of it. He never really has been in this kind of situation before. He had to ask some questions, but not too desperate questions... something like...

Jared: "So what have you been up to lately?"

Yang: "Well, there was this one really fun thing I did right before I went to Beacon this semester."

Jared: "Do tell."

Yang: "I've been on a mission to find this person, so far I've had no luck. But it once took me to a night club. I kindly asked the manager where they were, however he was of no use until I used force. And even then I got no answer. Sooooo, I decided, 'well I might as well have some fun.' I basically beat up everyone in the bar until they couldn't stand up. Fun times!"

Jared was both in shock and in awe of how strong and quite straightforward this mysterious lady was. However he was quite intrigued to ask more.

Jared: "That sounds brutally fun. Sounds like a good time... for you. Definitely not for them."

Yang: "Well, one of them touched my hair... so I may or may not have shattered his entire upper body, heheh!"

Jared smiled and laughed at that but on the inside he was terrified about just even accidentally messing with the golden haired girl...

Jared: "So what do you like to do for fun?"

Yang: "I like to ride my motorcycle, hang out with friends, get in fights, you know. Girly stuff."

Jared: "Haha, right..."

Yang: "Well, enough about me, what about you, Jared? What have you done before you ended up on Remnant?"

Jared: "Oh, uhhh, I've been in a couple of wars so far. One with the Sith Empire who... oh right you have no idea who Sith are... just assume they're the bad guys. Anyway, these guys were some of the most pathetic enemies the Grand Republic Military has ever had the misfortune to go up against. Besides that, I've had plenty of rest and relaxation. Which is quite disappointing when I'm one of the best in the Republic's army..."

Yang: "Huh. Well there's plenty of fun to be had here. I'll make sure to show you a fun time sometime, okay?"

Yang seemed to be truly interested in Jared and he noticed it. He smiled and accepted the offer.

Yang: "Well, here's my dorm. Thanks for walking me back."

Jared: "No problem. It's not every day I catch such a charming young girl in the halls of a school on a planet I've never been on before."

Yang giggled in response to the joke Jared had made, seeming very happy with how events turned out.

Yang: "Well good night, Jared. I'll see ya in Professor Port's tomorrow morning."

Jared: "Yeah, I'll see you." Jared was feeling quite warm and happy with what had happened that night, however that feeling intensified further when he noticed Yang had winked at him just before turning away and closing her door.

-3rd Person Omniscient POV-

As Jared walked back to team TJGJ's Dorm, he reflected on the day's events. He thought about how strange it was that they were teleported into another world by complete chance of an op gone wrong. He reflected on the fact that he made new friends the first day. And he especially reflected on the girl who winked at him just before sleep.

Jared knew today was a good day. And he also knew... it was just the beginning.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

-3rd Person Shadow POV-

Shadow yawned as he had just woken up the morning after he found his squad. He still wasn't quite used to how soft the beds at Beacon were, being that Freos's cots were more hard and comfortable to his back structure. He figured that this new world would be his home for a long while, or even possibly forever. Making it last, he became close to Blake and team RWBY as a whole. As his stomach growled, he decided to get into his combat armor (in preparation for class today) and head towards the cafeteria.

On his way there, team RWBY was awaiting him, as it was not team RWBY anymore. It was in fact team RWBYS. Thereon, team RWBYS continued on to the cafeteria, got their food and sat down with team TJGJ.

Titus: "Wow..." Titus yawned. "Anyone else get a good ammount of shuteye last night?"

Shadow: "Yeah, I feel like the bed will take getting used to, but otherwise last night felt bliss."

Titus: "So what did you guys get for breakfast?"

GT: "I got this oat based meal. It's pretty good."

TJ: "I managed to snag a sort of toast with a syrup. It is definitely satisfies my hunger."

Shadow: "I got some eggs and bacon." The others looked at Shadow quizzically.

Jared: "I have these pan-filling cakes. I also have that syruppy stuff, it makes them much tastier. What about you, Titus, what did you get?"

Titus: "It's a bowl of ball-shapped chocolates and milk. I think they call it cereal."

Ruby: "This right here is known as a burrito. I love burritoooos." Ruby purred the last bit of "burrito" out very hungrily.

Weiss: "I, have an omlet with ham and cheese."

Blake: "I have a fresh tuna sandwich..."

Yang: "I got a mountain of pancakes with whipped cream and a strawberry on top!" Yang seemed excited to get started on breakfast.

Shadow dug into his eggs and bacon, taking in the exquisite and new flavors that of which he hasn't had before. He was told bacon was good, but not this good!

Titus: "Man, the other SBH are missing out... this food is so amazing..."

Weiss: "That stuff isn't the best for you, though. I wouldn't eat too much." Weiss took another bite of her omlet as if she was a princess having dinner with a foreign king.

Titus looked down quite disappointed, "thanks for telling me..."

The bell of Beacon Academy had just rung. All the students quickly emptied their plates into the waste-bin and started walking towards their respective classes. Team RWBYS and TJGJ were headed off to the eccentric Professor Port's class.

-3rd Person Yang POV-

Prof. Port: "Class! You've all shown me this year that you know what it takes to become a true Hunter or Huntress. Except for teams RWBYS and TJGJ. You two are quite new to Beacon, so you two will have a project you must finish by the end of class. You will be paired in groups of two and will be assigned to telling me what you think it takes to become a true Hunter or Huntress, and then COMPLETE that task. THAT will show me if you are ready."

Yang quickly thought through her choices for a partner.

Yang: 'Okay, I can pair with Ruby... no she needs to learn from someone else. Weiss... no. Blake... she's already by Shadow's side... what about that kid from last night... Jared..."

Yang looked over to where team TJGJ was at and saw that Jared was starting to walk towards one of his other three teammates. She decided that she desired Jared to be her partner, therefore it will happen.

Yang sidesteps into the path of Jared as he is walking towards his teammates.

Yang: "Hey, want to be my partner? I thought you might need some help as you are new to this world."

Jared leaned his head over to his teammates and saw they were already paired up. Yang noticed that Jared looked uncomfortable, likely because she's around. Jared took a breath and said...

Jared: "Yeah, sure. I could use the help." Jared smiled a smile of both nervousness and anxiousness.

Yang smiled at the fact that he accepted and got to work immediately with him.

Yang: "Okay... let me give you a brief history on what the creatures of Grim are and what the Hunters and Huntresses jobs are.

Yang explained what he did not know to Jared for the next thirty minutes. Jared listened with great interest at the tale of how this world came to be.

Jared: "It's still odd to me that in another universe people look the same as us... either that or my perception of reality changed when I entered this dimension."

Yang: "You're quite the brainy one, huh? Well I guess it's better than being dumb like me."

Jared: "The fact you can recite that much to me based off of memory shows otherwise." Jared flashed a smile after that comment and Yang blushed and thanked him for it.

Jared: "Well we really do need to start on the project now, considering we just lost half an hour to our competitors." Not but five minutes later, Jared came up with an answer. "So in my opinion, it takes a courageous, giving, strong and sane mind to become a Hunter or Huntress. You need to be willing to fight these terrifying forces known as the creatures of Grim. You must be willing to give your life to preserve the lives of the rest of humanity. You need to be mentally and physically strong in order to combat such forces without dying immediately or running away before you even begin. But lastly, and most definitely not least, you need to be mentally sane in order to not abuse your power and keep others safe instead of putting them at danger."

Yang was just in awe at how quickly and good-hearted this young soldier was even though he had only learned of just the CONCEPT of Hunters and Huntresses not but thirty five minutes ago. She was really starting to admire him now...

Yang: "Well... with that I think we have our winning answer. C'mon, let's go tell Professor Port.

The two got out of their chairs and walked up to Professor Port and tapped his shoulder. He turned around and asked...

Prof. Port: "Yes? Do you have an answer?"

Jared: "We do, to become a Hunter or Huntress, it takes a courageous..." Jared explained the rest to Professor Port. He was quite surprised to hear an answer from such a new person to the entire world they lived in. It was actually one of the best answers he's heard in years.

Prof. Port: "Do you have what it takes to test your theory?" Professor Port asked with a cocked eyebrow.

Yang: "I believe we do."

Prof. Port: "Well with that determination... you pass. A plus. Your theory is great and you never backed down from such a philosophical question of astronomical proportions. Congratulations."

Yang looked at Jared who seemed very, very surprised at what he heard.

Yang: "Hey, good work, champ! You managed to become smarter than everyone on your first day in class. How do you feel?"

Jared: "Like I should've been wrong and needed to try again... that answer doesn't even seem that good...

Prof. Port: "An answer to anything is only as good as the person who answers. Remember that."

-3rd Person Shadow POV-

Shadow: "How surprising that he already answered and got a perfect score... hmph. I guess there's a reason why he's my second in command."

Blake: "He is pretty smart."

Shadow: "Indeed. Let's finish up our project, eh? I think to be a good Hunter or Huntress, you have to be passively aggressive. You have to tackle all the tasks in front of you without giving up, no matter what. Never give up on a teammate, even if you have the potential to earn something that could make you the happiest man or woman alive. We fight the creatures of Grim for a reason, they threaten the whole of humanity or the Faunus. Humanity and it's sub-species comes first, no matter what."

Blake: "I like that. A very intelligent but physically and socially correct answer."

Shadow: "Thanks, Blake. That means a lot to me. Not a lot of people thought I was very smart or a good leader back in the Republic. Many were actually attempting to de-merit me and make me look weak and "not fit for the job."

Blake: "Well you're none of those things. You've shown me that. Now let's go turn in our answer, I'm sure Professor Port will love to hear it."

The two followed the same maneuver as Jared and Yang, calmly getting out of their seats to walk up to Professor Port and give their answer.

Prof. Port: "Well, let's see what you have to say."

Blake: "We believe that being a good Hunter or Huntress means being passively agressive towards every situation. You have to tackle..."

As Blake finished the statement, Professor Port smiled.

Prof. Port: "That answer was simply fantastic. Another great answer deserving of an A plus. Congratulations."

Blake smiled and hugged Shadow, which he gladly accepted as a prize for getting a good grade.

-Later...-

-3rd Person Jared POV-

Everyone had gathered in the main hall for two on two combat sessions hosted by Glenda Goodwitch. Team RWBYS and team TJGJ were there.

Goodwitch: "So, we will now be selecting the combatants for today. Keep in mind that once your bar goes red, you are out. Do not attempt to be a hero and do not attempt to go over the limit. You will be punished."

Jared watched as multiple people went up and fought. For a couple hours he watched people fight with all different styles and team tactics. Eventually, it came down to choosing members from teams RWBYS and team TJGJ.

Jared was about to walk over to one of his teammates to ask to partner up for the fight, but suddenly Yang sidestepped in front of him again.

Yang: "Hey, care to be partners? I kind of want to see how you fair on the battlefield from the other side, don't want to see you get beat too badly," she said with a slight playful tone in her voice.

Jared noticed that Shadow and Blake were stepping up to the pad so he quickly decided to go along with it and pair up with Yang.

Jared: "Yeah, sure. Let's do this!" Jared was excited to fight the enemies ahead of him. His tutor and "superior" Shadow and his girlfriend Blake. They are both targets of which he relished to fight due to the challenge.

As Yang and Jared stepped up to the stage across from Shadow and Blake, Yang whispered a plan into Jared's ear.

Yang: "Shhh, what's going to happen is I'll take Shadow and you take Blake. Be careful, she is deceptively fast for her size."

Jared: "Yeah, I'll keep it in mind. I'm ready. Let's go."

The two got into their stances preparing to fight. Jared noticed Shadow whispering something into Blake's ear. He figured something was up. He dismissed the thought quickly though as he would pay too much attention to it instead of the fight.

-Five-

Jared's heart starts to race...

-Four-

His body starts to fill with adrenaline...

-Three-

He clenched his fists tightly then let it go in preparation to grab his katanas.

-Two-

Jared took a deep breath...

-One-

He let it go as he began to reach for his Katanas...

-BEGIN!-

His hands had already drawn his Katanas by the time the fight had started. He saw Yang charge directly towards Shadow and wished her luck. Jared quickly noticed out of the corner of his eye that he had overlooked the speed of Blake and dodged an impending attack. He quickly recovered from the dodge and launched a counter. She flawlessly countered it and vanished into thin air. Seeing this before, he turned around to see Blake swinging down hard above him. He crossed his swords and attmpted to get closer to Blake and knock her off her feet. He managed to get close enough to kick her feet out from under her and point his sword toward her neck. He heard the buzzer as her life meter quickly fell to red. He turned around to see a horrifying sight...

-To Shadow's Third Person POV one minute earlier.-

-BEGIN!-

Shadow quickly took out his dual DC17Bs and attempted to fire at Yang. She swiftly dodged the plasma bolts hitting the inpenetrable stage, made to withstand any kind of attack. She managed to get close enough and land a hard blow on Shadow's right cheek. The impact force sent him flying back to the other side of the stage. He got up, feeling extremely enraged from the blow. He suddenly erupted into black flames and his face turned to a snarl., as twin blades came out of the cuffs of his armor and he went straight for Yang. Yang unthinkingly ran right up to Shadow and attempted to hit him in the gut. She was surprsied however to find that Shadow hit her wrists and knocked her off balance. Shadow took this to his advantage and knocked her onto her butt. He quickly ran over and started to punch her as if he was a boxer. He heard the buzzer sound but his range deafened him and continued to attack... unknowingly beating Yang to within an inch of her life...

-Third Person Jared POV-

Jared turned around after defeating Blake, who complimented him on his swift victory. He turned around to see the horrifying sight of Shadow on top of Yang beating her after the buzzer had already rung. Seeing Shadow in a rage like this sent Jared into a frenzy having him run straight towards Shadow with his DC17M interchanged into it's grenade launcher form. He fired a grenade near Shadow so that he would be knocked off of Yang. He then sheathed the 17M and re-deployed his dual Katanas and ran towards Shadow. In an X-like shape he crossed his swords over his neck and yelled at him.

Jared: "It's OVER! Quit FIGHTING! Calm the HELL down! You almost killed Yang! How the hell could you do this? We're not fighting to kill anymore, we're fighting to defeat them!"

Suddenly Shadow's tense and snarling face was diminished to a near shame face as his flames faded away. He quickly apologised and pushed Jared off of him. He quickly ran out of the room towards outside where no one could see him rant about how idiotic he must've felt.

Jared walked over to Yang and sympathetically asked...

Jared: "Are you okay...?"

Yang coughed and replied with a somber, "yes... but it would be better if I was helped home."

Jared took the hint and helped her to her feet. The two began to walk off, as Glynda Goodwitch used this battle as an example of what not to do during tournament duels or duels in general. She stated that the students in the black armor were new and did not know until now. The two continued to walk in silence until Yang spoke up.

Yang: "Not many people can take down Blake so soon and so easily. You really are quite strong both mentally and physically..."

Jared blushed at this compliment and thanked her quickly. The two conversing every now and again on the way to Yang's dorm soon made it there.

Yang: "Well thank you for helping me to my dorm. I'm sure my teammates are itching to help me back into health. I think you did great out there and would love to fight by you again... soon.

Jared: "Thanks... I promise that won't happen again. I will make sure of it."

Yang thanked him for his attempt to try. However just before he was about to turn away Yang said his name.

Yang: "Jared?"

Jared: "Yeah?"

Jared turned around to see Yang leaning in to kiss his cheek.

Yang: "Take care and get some good rest. Tomorrows the weekend so I hope see you around..."

Jared was blushing intensely as he said: "Sure... no problem Yang. Have a good night."

Yang smiled as she walked into the dorm and closed the door. As Jared walked away he heard the yelling of team RWBYS minus Shadow and Blake whom were elsewhere.

Jared was both anxious and happy after his second day. He knew that his quest was far from over and there was still much to do.

He was ready for it, though. 


	8. Chapter 8

Note: Give us reviews on what you think we can improve on or add into the story. We will do our best to please the audience more than ourselves as we are entertainers, not Disney.

Chapter 8 -Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Shadow was kneeling just outside Beacon Academy's main hall in the garden. He was ranting to himself about how foolish he is and how unacceptable it is how he let his rage go like that. As he sat there wallowing in his own failure, he heard the steps of his feline Faunus friend.

Blake: "Hey, tell me what's the issue."

Shadow struggled to bring the air to his throat and speak to her, but he managed.

Shadow: "I almost killed Yang because I let go of all feeling except for my blind and deaf rage... how could I do that, Blake?"

Blake sat down silently by his side and thought for a minute before replying.

Blake: "You are who you are. You cannot change that. Just like I cannot change my heritage of being a Faunus, you cannot change your feelings and mental health. However just because that is a thing does not mean that people cannot accept you. I accept you... I love you."

Shadow looked at the beautiful Faunus who reassured him that everything was alright. To reassure him further, Blake leaned in a kissed Shadow and all traces of his sadness were lost in that moment.

Blake: "I heard that Jared helped her back to the dorm and that she is expected to make a full recovery. Everything is alright, Shadow. Now you can either sit here or we can go inside and get some rest."

Blake got up and Shadow did the same. The two of them walked inside holding hands walking to their respective dorms, Shadow feeling as if he was a new man.

-Blake 3rd Person POV-

Blake and Shadow have been planning this date for about three weeks now. They are going out to a fancy restaraunt known as the "Quoth The Raven." Since then, Yang has made a full recovery and everything was going full swing for this date to go great for the two. Blake and Shadow met up just outside of Beacon's fron entrance. Shadow was wearing a black suit and tie, as per custom. Blake was wearing a very interesting black dress which complimented her bow. The skirt was about knee length, the sleeves were shoulder length but otherwise the upper and lower body were well covered.

Shadow: "Wow... don't you look good?

Blake: "Thanks. Are you ready for dinner?"

Shadow: "I've been waiting for this dinner since we planned it three weeks ago."

Blake smiled and held her arm out for Shadow, and he took it with his arm. The two walked and talked all the way to the "Quoth the Raven" where they were sat down soon thanks to good reservations and service.

The "Quoth the Raven" was surprisingly nice. It was cool and very well decorated. It seemed as if the architects were paid to build a restaraunt fit for a king or queen... which is exactly what Blake felt like there. She felt like a queen being pampered by the king.

A waiter finally came over to ask what the two would like to have for dinner and the two ordered. Blake ordered a very fancy fish plate and Shadow ordered a buttery shrimp cocktail with a coke and a side of fries.

Whilst the two were waiting on their food Blake decided to have some small talk with Shadow.

Blake: "So what did you do before you came to Remnant? You were a Soldier in some army, right?"

Shadow: "Hm? Oh yes, I was in an army known as the Grand Army of the Republic." Shadow was weighing the decision of telling Blake about his SBH encounters and decided against it, just to keep the secrecy alive. He instead chose to tell her about his more normal exploits during raids and such. "I'm actually one of the more advanced fighters in the Republic's army. This one time, I decided to go on a solo raid to assassinate the leader of an anti-Republic group. I stole a guard uniform and hat, and they unknowingly let me in without knowing who I was. I walked straight up to my target but I saw that he had guards. I silently "dealt" with them and moved onto the main tent where the leader was at. He assumed I was a lost trooper that managed to find my way into his tent. Ohh how wrong he was. I assume that the hole in his head is still hot to this day... Either way, that is my most successful mission to date. What is the most interesting mission you've been on?"

Blake: "Oh, um. Well this one time I raided the Schnee Dust Company's supply train whilst it was en rou-"

Shadow: "Wait, wait, wait," Shadow interrupted, "Isn't Weiss the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company? Does she not know or..."

Blake: "This was a long time ago when I was a part of a group known as the 'White Fang.' We managed to get inside of the train and were confronted by guard robots. Me and my partner swiftly destroyed those robots and made our way to the cargo compartment. We found all the dust and planted our bombs and et cetera. We left the compartment however and found ourselves face to face with a giant robot which I distracted so that my parter could prepare his own attack. Once he was ready, he used his attack on the robot and it was instantly destroyed. However in the confusion I managed to slip away to the front train and unhook the compartments behind it, leaving my partner behind. That was the last time I was a part of the White Fang and is the last time in the forseeable future that I work with them."

Shadow: "Wow. That sounds like it took a lot for you to leave them behind."

Blake: "It did. And I don't know if they'll come looking for me one day and I'll be 'removed' from their equation to solve the issue known as Faunus equality."

Shadow: "If they do, I'll be around to make sure that you're safe. I promise."

Blake: "Hm. Let's hope it does not come to that..."

The food had finally arrived and they started to eat. They talked throughout the rest of the night about their endeavors in other events. They eventually finished however and returned to Beacon where they kissed before parting to their dorms.

-Yang 3rd Person POV-

Yang woke up feeling a bit groggy, but nothing out of the usual. It has been three weeks since her fight with Shadow and she has so far made a full recovery. Since then she's been hanging out with Jared and going to grab ice cream and talk and play around doing other stuff as well. Such as going to the Vale amusement park and pool. The constant fun and company made the time fly so fast. But the injury-based vacation time didn't last as today was her first day back in normal class schedule. She was wondering however who Jared and this 'Army of the Republic' really is. She decided to go ask his squad leader, Shadow about it.

On her way towards the Cafeteria for breakfast she saw Shadow. She decided to go and say hi.

Yang: "Heya, Shadow."

Shadow: "Oh... hey. Good morning. Sorry, a bit groggy."

Yang: "No big problem, I just want to ask you a couple questions."

Shadow: "Hm? And what would those be?"

Yang: "What is this 'Republic Army' you spoke of?

Shadow: "Huh, the Grand Army of the Republic is the army which serves Supreme Commander CC-088, otherwise known as Chimo. We however serve the Grand Republic which is headed by Chancellor Chase or otherwise known as Master. We are the strongest force in the galaxy... our galaxy anyway, and have taken down many enemies. Many of our brothers have fallen over the years, but they eventually get replaced with new numbers, as we are all clones of one man, but dammit if he's not the right man for the job."

Yang: "Wait, the Grand Army of the Republic is made up of clones...?"

Shadow: "Indeed. But every one of us is different in our mind and body depending on what we choose to do with the life given to us by the Kaminoans."

Yang: "That's both very sad and very... meaningful at the same time."

Shadow: "Indeed. You said questions as in multiple right? You have more?"

Yang: "Oh, ummm, well this one I would kind of like to ask you in private..." Yang fidgeted as she said private as she felt uncomfortable with the question she was about to ask.

Shadow: "Hmm, alright. Let's step into this corner, here."

The two stepped into a corner of the Cafeteria where no one else was and Yang asked her question.

Yang: "Okay... so I have to ask... what is Jared like...?"

Shadow was trying hard not to hold back his laughter.

Shadow: "What, J? Man, that's quite the question to answer. Well he's very nice, funny and he's definitely a killa' soldier."

Yang: "Hm. Well, thanks. That's all I got for now, I'll ask some more later if I become confused again."

Shadow: "Mmhm..."

The bell rang and all the students piled out of the cafeteria heading towards class. Yang was heading towards Professor Oobleck's history class, where she would find Jared and ask him about Shadow and why the way he is and why he has his fits of rage and confess something that has been pent up inside of her for a little while now...

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

Jared had awoke that morning and realized that he was almost late for Professor Oobleck's history lecture. He quickly rushed to get dressed and run out the door towards the class. After one minute of non-stop action he made it to the class where he found all of team RWBYS and TJGJ. He breathed a sigh of relief, but just before he could set foot in the class room the bell rang and he stepped in not but one second after it rang. Before he could even register what just happened, Professor Oobleck was right in front of the boy.

Prof. Oobleck: "So, you are late on your first day back, Jared? Dreadful. Simply dreadful. We will have to right this wrong after class, come see me."

Jared sighed a sigh of both contempt and failure for being such a fool as usual. He went to go take his seat just above team RWBYS and right in the middle of team TJGJ.

Professor Oobleck started his lecture and kept on talking and asking questions for a near twenty minutes. He then assigned everyone to study independently and talk to others only if you absolutely needed help. Jared was studying hard on current Vale history trying to figure out what happened, when Yang suddenly turned around and poked his arm.

Jared: "Hmm?" he silently asked.

Yang: "Hey there's something I have to tell you."

Jared: "Do you need help with a question?"

Yang: "Nonono, it's not that. It's something personal. Jared... I l-"

Professor Oobleck heard what the two were conversing about and instantly came between the two.

Prof. Oobleck: "Is everything alright? Miss Xiao Long, are you having troubles?"

Yang: "Uhh, no sir. I was just asking what Jared's favorite part of recent Vale history was."

Prof. Oobleck: "I see. And was it completely necessary to ask during study time?"

Yang realizing that she could not fillibuster her way out of this situation reluctantly replied: "No sir..."

Prof. Oobleck: "As I thought! You will come to me after class the same as Jared!"

Yang sighed and nodded.

Jared was wondering what Yang had to say as she got cut off early. 'L... Love?' Jared thought to himself. 'No, I doubt it... do I?'

Jared let the thought out of his head and continued on with his work, noticing here and there Yang looking off at Shadow and Blake sitting together doing work and occasionally cuddling.

'What if she was going to say 'I love you?' What then, Jared?'

Jared continued to ponder about the subject but ultimately gave up.

The class bell finally rang after the fifty minutes of study time and Jared and Yang went up to Professor Oobleck after class just as he had asked.

Jared: "You need us, sir?"

Prof. Oobleck: "Because of both of your lack of effort or attention, you will both be required to give me an oral report on all the past notable Hunters/Huntresses in the past 100 years! This will be due tomorrow. I expect thoroughness. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm out of coffee."

Professor Oobleck rushed out of class towards the break room before either of the two students could say anything else to him. The two looked at each other for a good ten second before leaving to go to their own classes.

Jared was excited for dinner that night, it wasn't every night his old squad got to go to dinner with a bunch of girls and just have a good time. The oral report Oobleck assigned made him a bit disappointed but he decided that he can do anything if he pushes through it.

Jared continued to walk onto his next class.

-Yang 3rd Person POV-

Teams RWBYS and TJGJ were at the Vale Ice Cream Parlor and Pizzeria. Everyone was having a good time except for Yang, who was lost deep in thought. She was very worried about what would happen if when she actually confessed to Jared without interruption what would happen. 'Would he feel the same? Would he reject me?!'

Yang suddenly burst out at the table just as everyone was getting ice cream: "I can't take this anymore!"

Ruby looked very questioningly at her sister and inquired:

Ruby: "Hey sis, what's wrong?"

Yang: "It's something personal... something I gotta work out on my own..."

Weiss: "Hey, we can help, you know. All you have to do is cooperate..." Weiss's voice trailed off as Yang up and walked out of the Parlor and Pizzeria. She came back in soon however to grab her ice cream and then leave again. Everyone at the table was quite confused at what happened.

Yang walked for thirty minutes before reaching the Vale Docks. She sat down and stared out over the port as she paraoically thought about what could happen...

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

'That was odd...' Jared thought. He was quite dumbfounded at Yang's sudden outburst and leave. He was wondering if it was about this morning when she was attempting to tell him something. Jared is a very logic and ethic based human, so of course he thought it was only natural that he try and solve this.

Jared: "Excuse me for a minute. I must go take care of something that I forgot. I hopefully shall be back soon."

Shadow: "Hm. That's odd behavior for you. Are you going after her?"

Jared: "Does it matter much to you?"

Shadow: "Hmph. Follow what your heart says, Jared. It'll take you to where you need to go."

Jared knew this was a really stupid thing for Shadow to say, but he knew that he meant it. Jared nodded in response and headed out the door of the restaraunt.

Jared headed towards the docks to think. He had a feeling that he would see her there though. He pondered on his way there his choices on what to do or say... he hoped he didn't screw up.

-Yang 3rd Person POV-

'What will I say when I see him again. Is it even possible for me to muster the courage to try and ask him again?' Yang was in deep thought about what could happen when she next saw him. She thought of all the possibilities of what might happen when they met again. She stood up slowly and sighed. She turned around and jumped a bit when she saw Jared walking towards her out of seemingly nowhere. Yang was babbling with her words and stammering with every other word.

Yang: "J-Jared! How strange to see ya here! Umm... why are you here."

Jared completely ignored what she said and kept walking towards Yang. She was anxious for what he would do. Would he attack her? 'No, he's too nice...' Would he criticise her? 'That doesn't seem like him...' She decided to wait for what he did.

Jared finally got within an arms reach of Yang but got a little closer. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in for a passionate kiss. Yang was surprised but she was engaged at the same time. After about ten seconds of just warm feelings and "action," Jared spoke.

Jared: "Yang. I think I figured out what you wanted to say back in Oobleck's. I don't care about the homework, I've decided I care about you. A lot..."

Yang blushed and almost broke into tears of happiness. She pulled him close and hugged him. She knew that the two would be together for a long time...

-KABOOM!-

Yang heard an explosion nearby. She looked back from the end of the docks to see smoke rising from a local building.

Yang: "We should go look into that. Unfortunately it looks like we'll have to save our feelings for later. Let's go!

The two started running off to the scene of the explosion to investigate. Although quick, the two connected like legos. Yang was happy for it.

However that's for later. 


	9. Chapter 9

NOTE: As you may have noticed, there has been more romance in the story than has previously been announced to be. Thanks to a certain friend of mine and author "Frogy117's," we've decided to put more in. No worries! There will still be lots of action and adventure. In fact half of this whole chapter is that. So fret not! What you desire is what we put out! But don't forget we have to satisfy everyone including ourselves. So suggest stuff to us, but make sure that it is WITHIN REASON. If you ever get this far within the story, don't forget to write a review as we would love to hear feedback. Also, events concerning the relationship between "Frogy117," "Jared" and "Shashank" are no longer this tense and have been since far resolved. Shash if you are reading this, this is just fanfiction. Don't pull a Hernia. Okay thanks! Have a good read! -"Jared"

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

The newly formed couple of Jared and Yang just saw an explosion as they had just revealed their extreme care towards each other. They knew that other people's lives were more important than theirs as they were Hunter and Huntress, so they went to investigate. When they arrived, on a nearby roof overlooking the scene, they found a grim looking Shadow no longer in his date suit, but in his full SBH combat armor and helmet whilst also wearing a grim expression on his face.

Jared: "What's going on?"

Shadow still with a grim face just pointed towards the entrance to the dust shop that had smoke pouring out of it. Out of the entrance came four shadowy figures in a straight line. The line slowly fanned out until they were shoulder to shoulder looking at Jared, Shadow and Yang. Jared recognised three of the ugly mugs immediately as some of the 21st Nova Corps. troopers. Their leader, Shashank in his usual combat armor looking very aloof as always. Zack, being right next to Shash's side, looking out for any danger and analyzing the team's downfall before the fighting even begun. Lastly, but most certainly not least, "Machine." The nickname they gave to the clone who was so good with machines and tech that he could give any team in the field an advantage over an electronic-based opponent. The fourth one however... a red-haired man with a bowler cap also wearing Nova armor for some reason. He had never seen this man before and assumed that Yang might've and asked.

"Who's the guy in the bowler...?" Jared quietly whispered to Yang at his left.

Yang: "I think that guy's name is Roman Torchwick. He's responsible for a number of dust thefts and being in league with the White Fang, a group of violent Faunus who fight for their rights instead of talking about it peacefully."

Jared: "Hmph. Is he tough?"

Yang: "Never fought him before. I guess we'll find out."

Jared returned his gaze to the four down on the ground floor next to the dust factory as they finally looked at Shadow and spoke. Or at least, Shash spoke.

Shash: "So! The sensational Shadow IS here! The Supreme Commander sent us here to bring you back, but we've found out that this world is ripe for our taking over. We have no use for the likes of such a failure as you. Therefore you will be eliminated from our equation..."

Jared watched closely as he saw that Shadow's fists clenched. Shadow only unclenched them when he put on his SBH helmet and said in a very stern and borderline angry voice: "Let's go..."

Jared realised that he and Yang were still in their resting/date attire and were not quite properly equipped for this kind of situation, but still had their weapons for such an occasion.

Shadow jumped down from the building onto the ground where his SBH armor negated any damage his legs could have taken from fall forces. Jared and Yang were not so lucky however and took the stairs back down until they finally came up behind Shadow with weapons drawn.

Shadow spoke in a very taunting voice. "Well, I guess I'll have to stop you, won't I? I've realised that there's no hope that we can return to our Galaxy, so I will do all in my power to protect this world from the likes of you or any other who endanger it or it's people... Prepare to fight and die, commander."

Jared watched as Shadow started to have a black smoke emit from him, a prelude to him losing control. He realised that this fight was one that he could let him get away with it. Jared was surprised though when Yang poked his ribs and asked him a question.

Yang: "Who is this guy?"

Jared: "This is commander Shashank. He has been known to be vicious, unforgiving and cruel with the lives of those he goes up against, and keeps tight tabs on those who he commands. Anyone who double-crosses him or leaks secrets about his 21st Nova... disappears per say. He's also been mine and Shadow's number one enemy for a while now. He's tortured Shadow so much over the past few months in our Galaxy that it'll be a surprise if Shadow can keep his mind in a stable condition during this fight..."

Yang: "So me might go coo-coo like he did with me during two on twos?"

Jared: "Unfortunately..."

Jared's expression was grim. He saw that even though Shadow was wearing a helmet, he was staring sternly at Shash, so he figured that that was his target. He assumed that Zack would be the next biggest challenge and he personally had some payback to deliver to him anyway.

Jared: "Yang. I want you to take the small one on the right. I'll assist you if you need any help."

Yang readied her Ember Celica. And looked back at him with a face of stern concentration and cockiness.

Yang: "I won't need it," she said with a smile. Jared smiled at the her reaction and turned and readied his dual Katanas.

Shash: "Well, come on then, I don't have all day." Shash pulled out dual DC15P blaster pistols and started firing at Shadow who in the blink of an eye managed to get right in Shash's blind spot and round-house kick him about five feet back. Shadow's black fire was emerging now... he angrily said: "neither do I. I have someone waiting on me..."

Jared took his eyes off of his officer and instead looked right at Zack.

Jared: "Well then. I suppose we should get started, 'bb.'" Jared's use of "bb" was a taunt to what everyone used to call him during his cadet stage. This angered Zack greatly as he came at Jared with a lot of explosive dust which he had just raided from the store, which was still burning behind him.

Jared took a deep breath in and then out. For some reason everything slowed down to him. He could observe everything before it happened. This was completely new to him and he noticed that he had no color, he was completely black, like a shadow. 'Hey wait, Shadow told me about my "semblance" when I first arrived... darkness...' Jared decided to put this to use and see what he could do with it.

He saw Zack step with his right foot first, he quickly ran, still inside of his "slow-mo-mode," and tripped Zack. Everything went back into full speed as he ran out of breath for no reason. He saw though however that he had not noticed Zack was running in his perception of time, and he went flying forwards and slid on his face for about 2 feet of concrete before his red dust gem came down and exploded right next to him, decintegrating part of his armor. Zack quickly stood back up and took out a Z6 rotary blaster and began to spin it up.

Jared: "Oh for f-..." Jared's voice trailed off as the sound of the rotary cannon filled the air around him and he started to run and dodge all of the hot plasma that was being slugged his way. He felt a sharp twang as a shot managed to hit him in his foot. He looked down for but half a second to notice that there was a smoldering hole in his dress shoes that he knew the rental can't fix. He again took a breath and saw that everything slowed down again. He had a better idea of how to control this newfound ability he had learned though and managed to get right behind Zack, pull out his dual katanas and cut off the six barrels of his Z6 rotary cannon. He let his breath go and everything went back to "normal" speed for him. Zack looked down in surprise to see how his gun had lost it's barrels and wondered how it happened before he turned around to see Jared standing there looking at him with a smile. Zack laughed cockily before pulling out his own scimitar-like sword, which was colored blood red like his armor. The two engaged each other in one on one combat...

-Yang 3rd Person POV-

Yang was staring down the shorter-than-the-others trooper in front of her and waited for his first move. Machine deployed a DC15X blaster sniper and used his in-helmet user interface to determine where Yang was going to move and make shots accordingly. Yang was easily dodging shots left and right. Machine shot low, Yang jumped. Machine shot high, Yang hits the ground before the shot reaches her.

Yang:"Heheh, you're never going to hit me that way, silly bo...bo..." Her voice trailed off as she saw that a large clump of her hair was burning on the floor in front of her. Yang immediately felt her feelings surge inside of her, most formost however was her rage. She erupted into golden flames and suddenly sprinted towards Machine in a very daring attempt to land even one hit... one hit is all it would take... 'Nobody messes with my HAIR!' Yang yelled a battle roar as she dodged all the shots that Machine was shooting off towards her and managed to hit him right on the right side of his helmet. The impact force was so immense that Machine went flying towards the burning store which he was taking cover just in front of and hit the rear wall. His helmet fell off of his head with a light "thud." His visor was cracked and there was a large four finger fist print on the side of it. Yang calmed down as she realised that the fight was over and Machine was knocked out. She looked over to how Jared and Shadow were doing but felt her vision blurring. She suddenly felt backwards and had a last look and thought at Jared before she lost conciousness: 'Good luck...'

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Shash was putting up quite the fight, but Shadow was too blinded by his rage to notice any damage that he may have sustained. He think he may have had a large slash across the back of his armor but he couldn't tell. He was currently facing off Shash with his black flamed sword whilst Shash was weilding a Vibrosword in his right hand and a vibroblade in his left hand. The two charged each other and deflected each other every time. At one point Shadow will have leverage over Shash but Shash will pull a dirty move and knock Shadow's legs out from under him. Shadow quickly returns to his feet and continues to slash away at Shash.

Shash: "Just give it up old man. Compared to me, you're as pathetic as a frog."

Shadow has had enough of Shash's insolence and breaking of rules. He finally lost all sense of reality and focused on one thing: killing Commander Shashank. He had a large boost in speed and knocked Shash's feet from under him and slashed wildly at his armor, cutting off his left pauldron and right knee guard. Shadow was out of breath so he stepped back for a bit.

Shadow backed up so far he was back to back with Jared.

Jared also out of breath asks: "Just like old times, huh?"

Shadow was so angry he had no reply but a grunt.

Roman Torchwick finally fed up with doing nothing raised his cane into the air and fired off some sort of flare. Suddenly, two dropships circled over head and fifteen goons, looking to be Faunus in nature jumped out.

Roman: "You two aren't the shiniest blasters in the stockpile, are you?"

Suddenly out of nowhere, a blue and red fire erupted out of the ally to the left of the two SBH and the SBHs TJ and GT stepped out. GT being engulfed in red flames and TJ in blue flames. A hailstorm of arrows hit the dropships and they crashed just outside of Vale, in the harbor. Titus could be seen nearby with his full armor on the same as GT and TJ, engulfed in an ancient light. He saluted to Jared and Shadow before taking aim at the goons.

Roman: "They just keep getting weirder..."

GT and TJ ran straight towards the White Fang goons and began to cut their way through. Although separate, they swung and retreated as if they were thinking as one.

Shadow saw that Shashank's right knee was vulnerable. He quickly sped over to Shash, who, before he could figure out that Shadow was there, had his knee severly injured. About half of it was cut and he was bleeding out. He was yelling from the pain but he still managed to taunt Shadow saying:

Shash: "Finally hit something, have you? Good for you. You'll need to do a lot more than that to earn your position."

Shadow could be finally done with Shash. He raised his flaming sword above his head, the flames becoming more intense as all common sense in Shadow vanished. Out of his blind anger, he failed to note that Zack was rushing right towards him and tackled him to the ground and knock him out momentarily.

-Tj, GT and Titus Collective 3rd Person-

Tj, GT and Titus have all been off on their own exploits when not with Jared or Shadow. They've been training hard, and have mastered their semblances to a point where they can control them efficiently and deadly. TJ and GT being brothers worked together more often and not, and since then have devised a fighting style where the two are fighting in unison. Titus has been training hard with the weapons he was given, an ancient sword, shield and bow. He has been able to defeat groups of three students at a time while alone and fighting.

TJ: "These guys aren't much of a challenge..." TJ was quite confident and knew that him and his brother could easily defeat the goons ahead of them.

GT smirked and nodded his head. The two continued to attack the soldiers as their numbers fell. Ten. Seven. Three. One. None...

Titus looked around the combat zone to ensure the safety of his allies and ward off any reinforcements the enemy might have. The Vale Police seemed to be on their way, finally, but nothing could be seen from his standpoint. He turned his focus back to the battle as he saw that Zack had tackled Shadow and that Shadow was knocked out. He seemed to have a large gash on the back of his armor, it was amazing he was still able to fight at that point. However, he lost all conciousness and fell to the ground upon Zack's impact with his stomach and his head hitting the ground.

Titus saw as Jared saw what had happened to Shadow and got up to try to attack Zack. He noticed that Jared made a fatal error in his step as Zack exploited this and slashed at his right calf. The sword went straight through his trousers and severed several muscles, muscles that allowed him to stand. Jared collapsed and hit the ground, but not without taking out his DC17M and firing off one round towards zack, which hit him directly between his shoulderblades. Zack cringed from the pain but was alright otherwise. Titus was about to knock and arrow and fire it at Zack. He failed to notice however, that a White Fang soldier had seen him earlier and snuck up behind him and knocked him out. The soldier then jumped off of the building perch that Titus was stationed at and attempted to rush the last two standing, GT and TJ. GT saw him coming and alerted TJ. He got within range of their melee attacks and GT did a low sweeping kick. The soldier was knocked off of his feet, which he seemed surprised to have happen. Tj then slid under the airborne Faunus and smashed the butt of his blade as hard as he could into the lower part of the trooper's spine. He was instantly knocked out and TJ and GT collectively decided to take him with them after everything was said and done for interrogation. After they were done talking they heard the takeoff of a dropship. Zack was piloting a dropship which had Roman and Shash inside, the latter of which clutching his knee in pain. Machine was no-where to be seen inside before the doors closed. GT and TJ expected Titus to be firing at the dropship and knock it out of the sky. However when they looked at his position they noticed him slumped over the side of the building. The two looked at the dropship which had gotten to an altitude where it switched from takeoff to transport mode. The dropship rocketed off to some unknown base away from Vale. GT clenched his teeth at the sight but figured that they'd be back. He saw that Jared, Shadow and Titus needed seeing to. Yang seemed to have collapsed from exhaustion just inside of the store.

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-  
Shadow woke up to see the dropship with Zack, Shash and Roman inside speeding away into the distance. He clenched his fists and yelled out in agony and rage as he felt a feeling he's very familiar with; failure. Shash, Zack and Roman got away... wait... 'Zack... Shash... Roman... Where's Machine...?' Shadow quickly got to his feet and looked around. He finally looked inside the dust store to see Machine slumped up against a wall with his helmet visor cracked and with a fist-print the size of a bowling ball on the assumed that Yang won the fight but may have lost conciousness to exhaustion and she would wake up later. He then wondered if Jared sustained any damage from the fight with Zack. He looked around and he found Jared just about five feet away from where he was standing. His shoe had a blaster bolt shaped hole in it which was still smoldering and his right leg was cut from the ankle to the knee on the calf. It was likely he wouldn't recover from a wound like that for a good 2 to 3 days with constant medication and attention... He looked to see GT and TJ running towards him.

GT: "Are you alright, sir?"

Shadow was feeling a glow of Shame, but realized that the fight was not over and responded grimly.

Shadow: "I am, thank you. Where's Titus?"

TJ: "It seems that he was knocked out in the fighting while we were engaging the White Fang."

Shadow grunted in acknowledgement to the answer and asked what they got out of the fight.

GT: "Well besides experience, it seems that me and TJ have knocked out one of the White Fang soldiers and can interrogate him later."

TJ: "To add icing to the cake, it seems that Yang has knocked out Machine and we will be able to question him as well. We've certainly got something out of this, Marshall."

Shadow decided that today was not such a bad day after all. It was almost midnight by now. A sudden fatigue washed over Shadow and he asked TJ and GT to call in some support from Beacon to get everyone home, and to get Machine and the Soldier a room that was, "not as comfy as others." TJ and GT understood and used their scrolls to call it in.

The fight was finally over... however Shadow was not reassured that this was a victory for anyone.

-TJ 3rd Person POV-  
There were four people in Professor Ozpin's office. Ozpin himself, Tj, Machine and one of the captured Faunus soldiers. Shadow and Jared were nowhere to be seen because they were in the hospital recovering from their injuries. TJ however, out of him and his brother, was chosen to do the interrogating of Machine as he was the most calm and collected in any situation out of the squad of five.

TJ: "So. Machine. Let's start with our first question. How did you get here?"

Machine, no longer wearing his helmet (which was damaged beyond repair), responded in a very taunting attitude.

Machine: "By riding in your mom's car here, obviously. After what we did for her it's a wonder she still considers you her son." Machine then laughed loudly at his own joke.

TJ frowned and replied: "Making jokes will not get you back to your squad any sooner. If you answer our questions we will send you back to Shash."

Machine's face went back to being serious instead of a smile and responded.

Machine: "Fine. Let's make this quick, then. We arrived here after Chimo assigned us to come looking for Shadow's SBH squad. We found the same artifact you did, or at least we believe so, and it started to hover and pulsate light. Next thing we knew, we woke up here and were found by Roman Torchwick. He took us in but in return we had to help him conquer Vale or if that went well, Remnant. Shash believes that he should be in control, however he dares not start his rebellion just yet..."

TJ: "I see. Well... next question. What were you doing robbing a dust shop in down-town Vale?"

Machine considered making another joke, but repressed the feeling.

Machine: "Well, we needed to learn how the weapons of this world worked. Shash believes that through dust he can make our weapons much stronger than they currently are. He believes that dust can be used as a substitute for Tibanna gas. The fumes of dust are much more explosive and reactive to the way our blasters work and makes them MUCH more deadly. Almost as if the bolt is travelling at the speed of light. However in return, the weapons degrade faster."

TJ seemed troubled by this new information. 'Hmmm. If this weapon were to be unleashed, they could kill someone from miles away and we wouldn't be able to do anything about it..."

TJ: "How soon will they be able to produce this weapon."

Machine: "Given the resources we have in this world? A couple months. Maybe a year. I'm done speaking. Now let me go."

TJ considered the choice but he realized that there wasn't much more information they could push out of Machine without violent torture... TJ was a humane man, so he agreed.

TJ: "Very well. But first, do you have anything to say, Ozpin?"

Ozpin was looking intently at Machine, which made him squirm.

Ozpin: "If any of this is a lie, or if you attempt to hurt someone on the way out of Beacon... well... just be aware that everyone in this school has training to destroy people like you."

Machine gulped and nodded. TJ undid the restrains on his cuffs and he was escorted out of Beacon.

Once outside, TJ stopped and commanded Machine: "Get out of here. Go find Shash, wherever that slimy man is. Don't cause any harm on your way out or we will find you and end you. Permanently."

Machine understood and agreed.

As Machine walked away from Beacon, TJ was in deep thought. 'I never expected the 21st to turn on us like that... They've always been rude and obnoxious but this is unacceptable. They will be stopped... eventually.'

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

"So..." Shadow was inside of the Vale hospital. He had been thoroughly examined for the past two days but nobody has found anything wrong after the battle besides the wound on his back. They told him that that wound would never fully heal and there would be a scar but he would make a full recovery otherwise. His injury did not bother him, though. He was worried about the intel he got back from TJ who was visiting him inside of the Hospital. The two were standing inside the room which was set aside for him and Jared, the latter of which was sleeping painfully on his cot as his leg wound would try to heal.

Shadow: "They're going to substitute Tibanna gas for Dust... although genius for thinking of that, won't the guns degrade at an insane speed?"

TJ: "He also mentioned that, yes."

Shadow: "Hm. And there's not a lot of tools here that can replicate a blaster's materials on Remnant. This is both good and bad."

TJ: "How so?"

Shadow: "Well, the guns are dangerous, yes. They may be able to be used against us from insane ranges and inflict serious damage, yes. However, from the rate of degradation, the guns should decintegrate after only about twenty shots...

TJ: "That's not a lot... so what you're saying is..."

Shadow: "Yes. Although deadly, they'll have to save their shots for important targets or times."

TJ: "So they won't be able to use them much, or even at all."

Shadow: "Indeed. So there's not too much to worry about at this point. Has anyone been able to get anything out of the White Fang soldier yet?"

TJ: "No. Thankfully no means of torture were used against him and he was released back to the public. Hopefully this should help the issue with the Faunus and descrimination."

Shadow was relieved. Not only have they gotten information about Shash's plans, but they have gotten away with interrogating a White Fang trooper without any kinds of torture or descrimination towards his race. Thinking of the Faunus, he wondered how Blake was doing...

Shadow: "Hm. Well thank you, TJ. It appears that we have our work cut out for us, but it's nothing of too much concern as we have so far seen. Thank you for the intel."

TJ: "Of course, sir."

Shadow: "You are dismissed."

TJ: "It's been a pleasure, sir."

TJ made his way out of the Vale hospital as Shadow approached the window. He looked out over Vale and all of it's people and wondered how safe they were... 'Are they safe from the creatures of Grimm? Maybe. Are they safe from Shash? ...no.' As much as Shadow insults and says that Shash has no idea what he's doing, he does know that Shash is a dangerous man and should be stopped as soon as possible.

-Yang 3rd Person POV-  
Yang and Jared were walking in the hallways of Beacon, just a day after his release from the hospital. He had stitches for his leg and nothing was too seriously injured. The doctors said it was safe for him to perform his everyday activities at Beacon.

As they walked down the hallway, holding hands and the lot, Yang spoke up.

Yang: "Heyyyy?"

Jared: "Hm?"

Yang: "Wanna spar a little? The auditorium is empty at this time of the day on the weekend and we can use it to practice.

Jared looked as if he was pondering. Likely because he had just sustained a leg wound, but remembering what the docs said, he turned back to Yang and responded with a happy: "Sure!"

Yang smiled and started to run ahead, still holding his hand, kind of dragging him behind her, but he soon caught up. They ran all the way there and then jumped on stage.

Yang: "So. You feel up to the challenge?"

Jared smiled and replied: "You know what I'm going to say. Of course I do."

Yang smirked and prepared her Ember Celica. Jared unsheathed his dual black Katanas and did a neck roll.

Yang: "Alright. Three..."

Jared took a deep breath and replied: "two..."

Yang: "One!"

Yang charged Jared, and trying to go easy, threw some light punches. Jared noticed that she was going easy and sheathed his Katanas and used only his fists. Yang sideswiped right and Jared would dodge and make a hit to her ribs. She would lose her breath for a second but quickly regain it, smile and counter with an uppercut. The punch connected with his stomach and sent him back down the stage three feet. Yang smirked and saw her chance and kicked him over onto his back and readied her fist above his face.

Yang: "I win," she said with a smirk.

She watched as Jared smiled as well and asked: "...do you now?"

Jared disappeared and Yang lost her balance as she was resting her foot on his chest. Her foot hit the floor and she stumbled forward. Before she knew what happened, she felt her being put into a full nelson grab, with Jared's arms, the right under her right shoulder, blocking right arm movement and his left arm around her kneck, but not with too much force. Yang struggled a bit but in the end gave up and tapped out.

Both of the two sit down on the end of the stage, side by side and are somewhat out of breath. The two are holding hands and laughing a little bit at the good fight.

Yang: "You sure know how to fight, when did you learn the teleporty move?"

Jared shrugged and replied: "Not sure. It just came to me."

Yang cocked and eyebrow at the response but decided not to persue the subject. She instead had another question, remembering her first fight on this stage.

Yang: "Last time we were on this stage, we were fighting Shadow and Blake. What's the deal with his rage, anyway?"

Jared's eyes flashed a little bit and looked at hers with intrigue.

Jared: "Do you really want to know?"

Yang: "Well, one, I wouldn't ask if I didn't and two, he did kind of beat me to a pulp."

Jared laughed at the first part but became stern at the last.

Jared: "Alright... well, Shadow has a history of raging fits. If anyone would hinder Shadow's success, he would become very angry. During his process of being cloned, it's a well known fact that his cloning tube wasn't quite fully operational while he grew up and therefore had a bit of a mental problem when going through basic training. He fought through it of course and kept moving on with his ranks. He finally achieved leadership ranks eventually and that's when serious criticism started to pop up. It weared him down even more than previously mentioned and he suddenly would break down in the middle of events. Now-a-days though, he's mostly got it under control, however, he will still lose it if you make him furious.

Yang: "Hm. That makes sense. I didn't know that that was a part of his mental state... I guess I kind of have to forgive him now, huh?"

Jared: "Yeah, I guess you do, but that's your choice."

Yang was glad that Jared had the accepting and neutral personality he did. It made him a very caring person, but at the same time not a biased person if someone was wrong.

Yang snuggled against Jared and asked another question.

Yang: "So what kind of thing did Shadow lead?"

Jared: "Huh? Oh. He lead his own battalion, it's known as the 187th Siege battalion. It was responsible for most of the heavy attacks against other anti-Republic factions. It's well known however that his division did not make everyone happy and Shadow was widely criticized for getting a new battalion just by asking the Supreme Commander. The 21st Nova most of all, did not accept that this Marshall Commander, who has been nothing but a nuisance for them their entire existence has gotten his own battalion to command. They believed that he was not 'ready' to handle this and would keep harrassing him and saying that their harrassment were 'tests' for him. Eventually the Supreme Commander ordered the halting of the hostilties. It's clear now that Shash was just holding it in."

Yang: "Wow. I feel kind of bad for him now, honestly."

Shadow: "Feel bad for who?"

The two failed to notice that Shadow was squatting right behind and between the two as he looked at Jared. Both of the two cringed and turned around to see him and Blake standing a bit further behind him.

Jared: "Oh, hey, Shadow... Didn't see you the-"

Shadow kind of kicked the two off of the stage onto the floor, where they both landed in kind of an awkward position on the floor.

Jared: "What was that for...?"

Shadow was laughing and just replied: "No reason. Just felt like it. Anyway, me and Blake came here wanting to ask something."

Yang: "Aaand...?" She responded, rubbing her head from the fall.

Blake: "We were going out tonight and were wondering if you wanted to join us. Like a double date."

Jared just sighed in response.

Jared: "Yeah, sure, why not..."

-Blake 3rd Person POV-

The couples went to a four-star restaraunt which served items of high quality from another continent. It was known as the "Fighting Frog." They were sat down later than usual, however because they did not have reservations. Yang sat next to Jared and Blake decided to do the same and sit next to Shadow. They ordered their food (Jared: steak, Yang: Spicy Stuffed Potatoes, Shadow: Chicken sandwich with bacon and cheese and Blake got a fancy fish plate to which Shadow commented on "Why do you always get fish?" Which she just shrugged to) and once they had all ordered their food, they decided to get started with the dinner conversations.

Blake was still wondering about what Shadow had done in this SBH group of his... what kind of secrets is he hiding?

Blake: "So, Shadow, what kind of training did SBH get?"

Jared coughed and Blake looked just in time to give Shadow a stern look.

Shadow: "Uhhh, well SBH training is... a lot tougher than normal troopers."

Shadow seemed satisfied with his answer, however Blake was not.

Blake: "Oh, like what?"

Shadow: "Er, well, our obstacle courses were longer, more difficult and many people would drop out of the program in the first week. The combat training versus other SBH teams however was the most grueling. Some people were out of the fight for months at a time."

Blake knew that she wouldn't get far with asking about specific parts about the program so she changed subjects.

Blake: "Well with training like that, what kind of enemies did you go up against?"

Yang: "Yes, I would like to know as well. Why don't you two tell us a story?"

Shadow and Jared looked at each other sending unspoken signals.

Jared: "Well. You are familiar with my story about the Sith Empire, correct, Yang?"

Yang: "Yea, but you should tell Blake as well."

Blake: "Do tell."

Jared: "Well, the Sith Empire was one of the most pathetic enemies the Republic Military has ever had to fight. They constantly put up zero effort when attacking us and when attacking them they were... difficult. But the Republic overcame and won. Anyway, I promised a story. Shadow, you remember this, right?"

Shadow looked a bit nervous and responded: "Ye-yeah. We were given intel by Commander Slowgeden, the commander of the SBH, that the Sith were being supplied by a single mega-factory on the third moon of Hoth. The SBH were sent to investigate and destroy this facility."

Jared: "Once we arrived on-planet, our first objective was to find the overseer of the facility and take him down. We soon snuck our way past the guards of the facility and made our way to the top of the factory. Given the schematics we were given by our large group of Republic Spies, we were able to find the ceiling which was just above the overseer's office. We managed to cut a hole into his ceiling and use our DC19 stealth carbines to take him down without the rest of the factory going into alert. His office was sound-proofed as to not interrupt his research into more Sith weaponry."

Shadow: "Once he was taken down, we went to the ground floor and managed to place thermal explosives all over the facility where critical machines were placed. We took down generators, fuel containers and the machines which produced the weapons the facility made."

Jared: "We then evac'd back to our stealth gunship and started flying back to Freos. Halfway there, we remotely detonated the explosives and the facility was sabotaged beyond repair."

Shadow looked at Jared and winked for some reason. Blake suspected that this must be some sign of "good job." Must have been a tough mission...

Yang: "Well, with that said, I'm a bit hungry! All this action gets me excited."

Blake: "Indeed. I'm pretty famished and need some food."

Right on cue, the server came back to their table and gave out the respective food.

The two had their meal and continued to have some small talk. Eventually they finished and decided on dessert, chocolate lava cakes. The bill then came which was 117 lien...

Once they finished their desert, which promted them to finish all of their drinks, Shadow and Jared's colas, Blake's milk and Yang's hot tea, they started back on their way to Beacon. The two separated once they got to the front and had some alone time to finish off the date.

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Blake and Shadow were walking along the corridors and hallways of Beacon, being empty as it was bedtime for most students. Blake and Shadow however are night people and still had energy to stay up a bit longer.

Blake: "Hm. It's kind of funny, actually."

Shadow: "What's funny?"

Blake: "Us. Without some freak accident happening for you, we would've never met."

Shadow: "Hmph. At one point I believed that being teleported here was a bad thing and that we'd never get back. I still believe that we'll never get back, but I however forgot all about hating that fact..."

Blake: "Don't you want to go home?"

Shadow: "Yes, but my feelings for you are stronger than my homesickness. Heh, I should really say that you and Beacon have become my new home, Blake..."

Blake blushed and held Shadow's hand tighter.

Shadow: "Blake. Promise me one thing."

Blake: "What is it?"

Shadow: "Promise me that you'll stay safe when fighting. I don't want you to leave me..."

Blake turned and kissed him for a quick second before responding.

Blake: "...I promise."

The two then went to a corner near a window which overlooked Vale and sat together talking, cuddling and kissing every now and again.

-TEN MINUTES EARLIER IN THE GARDEN-

-Yang 3rd Person POV-

Yang and Jared were walking through the garden slowly, enjoying each moment they had with each other. Yang was very happy and feeling warm after dinner. She was still wondering however about Jared's past.

Yang: "How did you and Shadow meet?"

Jared: "Huh? Oh. Well... I think we first met on my first day as a cadet. I was doing exceptioningly well in the academy and graduated on my first time through. Shadow saw me out of everyone and picked me out as a candidate to become a new SBH trooper. The commander of SBH back then, Mack, agreed because there was one like me long ago that disappeared. Shadow was happy to bring the news to me and so was I to hear that I was chosen to be an SBH trooper. Shadow was assigned immediately to be my handler and would go on to be my mentor and partner. Him and I have been good friends since then... he's taught me a lot. He's taught me how troopers react to certain things, he's taught me how to lead when I was recently promoted to Major and he's taught me most of all, to be the best I can be."

Yang was quite in awe at how deep Jared must be connected to Shadow. The two really were inseparable partners. She hoped that she and him could be the same...

Yang: "Well, I'm glad for one thing that he chose you."

Jared: "And why is that...?"

The two stopped and Yang turned to Jared and looked deeply into his eyes.

Yang: "Because you wouldn't be here with me if he didn't." As she finished that statement she pulled him close into a passionate kiss. One that was supposed to be shared long nights ago but was interrupted. There was no interruption though, now. The two after parting lips hugged each other closely there for a couple minutes, absorbing each other's warmth. After they parted, they once again held hands all the way back to their dorms. They said their good nights to each other and then separated. Yang figured she made the right choice with Jared. The two complimented each other's personalities well... it made little sense to her how lucky she could be.

She couldn't wait for tomorrow.

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

On the way back to his dorm, Jared was thinking how silly it was that such a misfortune turned out to be such a relief to him. He never knew that he would be so engaged with things to do in this world. He wondered what would happen if it happened the opposite way around... if team RWBY came into their world.

He dismissed the thought as impossible. 


	10. Chapter 10

Note: This chapter is short because we put out quite a lot of content the past few days ever since I ("Jared") ever started writing. This gives me a day to myself after I finish this and send it off to Frogy. Happy reading! We'll be back tomorrow with usual content ammounts!

Chapter 10

-3rd person Shadow POV-

All of Shadow's men were in bed, all with shots to critical organs. Shadow was grim and angry as to how this could happen. He turned around and saw the smug face of Shash. He almost pulled out his weapon to respond to Shash's presence but before he could even move he felt a sharp object go right through his stomach. He looked down to see Shash's vibroblade sticking right through his abdomen. He wanted to scream from the pain, but could not find his voice. He slid backward off of the sword and onto the ground where the 21st Nova troopers stood over him. He was on the floor in the field of the Emerald Forest, which was burning. He smelled burning wood and the stink of death. He heard screams in the distance off towards Beacon. He could taste the taste of blood in his mouth has he laid there gritting his teeth at those above him. He then saw another figure appear behind him, but still leering over him. Torchwick...

Roman: "You never learn, do you? This is my world. And your friends...? They just got in the way..."

Roman then started to walk off, Shadow watching his movements, only tearing his eyes away when he felt a boot being put on top of his chest. He still could not speak as Shash held his DC15P in front of Shadow's face.

Shash: "Sorry, Shadow. It seems you have failed... again."

Shadow's life flashed before him as he saw the flash of gas being energized into a projectile to be flung across a small distance into Shadow's head. The last thought however in that head, was of Blake. "No!" He finally let out before being silenced forever.

Shadow woke up yelling at the top of his lungs and sweating like a liar on judgement day. Blake came rushing in and exlcaimed: "Shadow?!"

Shadow looked around and noticed that he was inside of his dorm in the middle of the morning. He looked at his clock which read: "4:19:30"

Shadow then took control of his breathing and replied to Blake.

Shadow: "I'm... I'm fine. It's just a nightmare."

Blake only then let out her breath and was relieved of her strife.

Blake: "This is your third nightmare this week..."

Shadow: "I promise, I'm fine. There's nothing wrong, I promise."

Blake: "Even so, I want to help. Do you mind if I accompany you tonight?"

Shadow blushed thinking of what she meant but pushed all of the more negative thoughts out of his head and replied: "Yeah... sure."

Blake stepped into Shadow's dorm and closed the door. She got under the covers and cuddled next to Shadow.

Blake: "No matter what happens, I'll always be here for you."

Shadow immediately felt all fear rushing out of him like a river pouring into the ocean, his ocean of emotions. The rain that started the next cycle was one of happiness and relief.

Shadow: "Thank you... good night, Blake."

Blake kissed him good night and replied the same: "Good night..."

Shadow slept soundly throughout the rest of the morning.

-3rd Person Yang POV-

Yang woke up that morning to find that Blake's bed was empty. She wondered where she was but did not give much thought to it. She slipped out of bed and checked the time. It was still 7:20:15. She realised that she still had time to do stuff so she got dressed and checked her scroll. She saw that she had new mail so she obviously opened her mail to see what it was. It was a message from Professor Oobleck saying to meet at the designated coordinates in the Emerald Forest. She also saw that Blake had sent her a message and would look at it later. She memorized the information then closed the scroll, put it in her pocket and moved on to get ready for the day.

After Yang was done with all of her preparations for the day, she stepped out to see which of her friends were up, but she was hoping that Jared was up. She kept walking towards team TJGJ's dorm, taking her time with each step. Once she arrived, she noticed that Jared was sitting outside looking at his scroll, at some sort of picture app and laughing softly. She approached him and spoke up.

Yang: "Hey, handsome."

Jared cringed in the surprise to see that someone besides himself was up at this time. He was relieved however to see that it was just his girlfriend, Yang.

Jared laughed nervously and said: "Don't scare me like that!"

Yang smiled and sat down next to him.

Yang: "So whatcha lookin' at?"

Jared: "Oh, just an app I downloaded onto my scroll that I found earlier last week. It gives around sixty funny new photos at different times each day. It's quite a nice app." Jared closed his scroll and put it in his pocket.

Jared: "So why are you up this early?

Yang: "Oh, couldn't go back to sleep."

Jared: "Hum."

Yang: "So are you ready for today?"

Jared: "Yeah. Did you get the message about Oobleck's?"

Yang: "Yeah, but I would rather not focus on that right now..."

Jared: "And what would you like to focus on?" Jared seemed intrigued so Yang just jumped right into it and kissed him.

Yang: "You... and I..." Yang said with a smiled and cuddled with her. The two sat there for a good while, not noticing the minutes go by. By the time Jared had looked at his scroll, next, he saw that it was about 8:45:10.

Jared: "As much as both you and I would love to stay here... we have class soon and we should start walking."

Yang sighed with disdain but agreed and stood up.

As soon as Jared got up she hugged and kissed him one last time before running off yelling: "Catch ya there!"

She looked back to see Jared smiling and taking the bait, running to catch up with and try to pass her.

He never did.

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

As soon as Jared caught up to Yang, she was already where the rest of the class was at the edge of the Emerald Forest. She turned around and looked a bit concerned.

Yang: "You ok?"

Jared who was out of breath got the sarcastic joke and rolled his eyes which made her smile and turn back. He finally caught his breath and walked up to where everyone else was and looked to see Oobleck looking at his watch.

Prof. Oobleck: "Aaaand, time! Let class begin! Your objective today, class is to find hints to a quiz tomorrow which will be on things you SHOULD already know but may NOT know. So to prepare you for the enevitable we have placed clues all over the forest and you are required to find them whilst also combatting the creatures of Grimm. Any questions?

A blonde kid could be seen raising his hand and wearily replying: "Uhh I have on-"

Prof. Oobleck: "Splendid! You may begin on my mark... Oh! And don't forget to meet back here in three hours. Go. "

Whilst everyone rushed off into the forest in random directions, team RWBYS and team TJGJ ran together and made a plan as they ran.

Shadow: "Alright. Ruby, Weiss, TJ, GT, and Titus, go off in the direction to our 2 o'clock and search over there. Everyone else, with me.

Everyone: "Alrighty!"

The two groups split up and Jared was keeping up with Shadow and even feeling a bit springy so he decided to run ahead and try to pass him. Shadow saw him and ran a little faster. Jared did the same, mirroring for about a minute before Jared broke out into complete sprint and ran ahead of Shadow. Shadow yelled: "Alright, showoff, come back." Jared smiled and waited for them to catch up to him, everyone in a walking pace now that he had tired them out.

Jared was feeling pretty good about that day.

-Blake 3rd person POV-

Blake had sent a message to Yang after getting out of bed without waking Shadow, as he was in a deep and happy sleep. She had told Yang to press for information about the SBH since they clearly did not give them a straight answer at dinner the other night.

Blake looked at Yang and Yang caught her eye. Blake gave the signal with the wink of an eye and brought up a question.

Blake: "So, Shadow. Would you care to tell me something you and Jared did in SBH that's actually true?"

She watched as Shadow stopped in his tracks and looked at Jared. Jared sighed and nodded to Shadow.

Shadow: "Very well. Jared, would you care to choose something to tell?"

Jared: "File B. The coruscant scandal. Operation: Black Justice.

Shadow: "Ooh that one is entertaining."

Jared: "Want me to start?"

Blake looked at Yang and smiled who smiled back at the fact they got a straight answer from the two, finally.

Jared who had gotten the go from Shadow started: "So. We were patrolling Coruscant in front of the Military zone when we heard over the comms that someone had taken over the Chancellor's office. He was away at the time and was not in his office, thankfully. However, this was by the name of a mercenary who refused to go by anything other than "Emersblade." He told the people who relayed the intel that they wanted to speak to me, personally. I looked to Shadow who was also confused and asked them to check that again. They confirmed it as saying "we want to speak to Jared." We prepared for the scenario, mapped and planned the time of the meet and finally rested on one option. False security. I walked into the Chancellor's office just an hour after planning the counter attack. There was two people inside. The merc Emersblade and his partner who asked to go by the name of "Jacob." They told me to sit down and asked me a couple of arbitrary questions. Mostly about other ops that the Republic had launched. One in particular, was one he was obsessed with. An op we performed on Tatooine, which we raided another group who had made their own clone army. Apparrently, he said that an explosion hit his sister's home and she died. He blamed us for her death and has never forgiven us since. So he put a blaster to my head and asked: 'are you ready to pay for your crimes.' I then replied: 'justice comes in many colors. Did you know it also comes in black?'"

Shadow: "My team heard this phrase over the comms and dropped from the stealth dropships which were stationed above the Chancellor's terrace and breached through the window. Emersblade and "Jacob" were caught off guard by this sudden action and Jared knocked Emersblade out with a move that only few SBH get training to do. He only got to use it because he was put in this situation. Emersblade's partner however, suffered and unfortunate shot to the head by a recruit which was known as Sharp. Nobody to this day knows what happened in Sharp's head to make... it... abandon us. However we do know that it's somewhere out in the galaxy, planning a return. I digress however, we then interrogated Emersblade and he gave a confession, which sentenced him to life imprisonment."

Blake's eyes widened from such a story. 'This is what they keep confidential? This sounds like it could set the public into an outrage if this was released. Their highest echelons of security breached by two men... I can see why they keep this a secret.'

Shadow: "Blake?"

Blake snapped to and realised what was going on again. She responded: "Hm?"

Shadow: "Are you happy, now? Knowing the one of the most secret information in the Republic?"

Blake knew she wanted to say no but decided against it as Shadow seemed really against giving out this information.

Blake: "I am. Thank you for humoring me."

Yang: "I know I'm amazed... like... wow. That was a thing."

As they walked they failed to realise they had not picked up any notes and completely forgot about it. They did however manage to trip on a large "branch on the ground."

Jared: "Ow... damn branch had me trip."

Blake using her Faunus senses figured out something the others clearly did not.

Blake: "That's no branch... that's a tail..."

And indeed she was right. The tail started to raise up as out of the bushes came a large death-stalker.

Shadow: "Whoa... never seen one of these... I want to kill it. Everyone stay back, it's mine!"

Blake was a bit afraid for the wellbeing of her partner but let him go as he seemed quite energetic and happy about fighting the deathstalker.

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Shadow decided to challenge himself and only use his wrist-blades. He deployed them and did some warm-up slashes. The deathstalker roared and clacked its claws together before charging Shadow. Shadow dodged the clas attacks and managed to land a stab under the creature's head where its "chin" would be. The creature screeched from the pain and was frenzied now. It attempted to get under Shadow and flip him into the air. Shadow dodged these attacks swiftly and get under it and find all of its vital spots and stab it until it roared it's last, grim shriek. Shadow realised that he was covered in dust and blood from the beast's veins. It was black and seemed to have just as evil of a presence as the beast itself, although it was decintegrating. He simply wiped himself down and looked back to his teammates.

Blake: "Not many people can take down a deathstalker on their first attempt... but you always do end up surprising me."

Shadow: "Thanks... it didn't take me too much... time... what time is it?"

Jared: "It's uhh... eleven o'clock."

Shadow: "Damn! I'll send a message to the others to get them to meet us where we split up within half an hour now."

Shadow quickly brought out his scroll and sent the message off to GT. GT received the message and replied affirmatively. Shadow acknowledged the reply and then put away his scroll and turned back to his team.

Yang: "Alright, let's go! Last one back has to do all of tonight's homework!"

Shadow smirked at how joking and aloof Yang was, almost as if she was a counterpart to Jared. Blake caught his look and asked: "What's up?"

Shadow just looked at her and said: "Nothing..."

Everyone raced back to the rally point.

-Blake 3rd Person POV-

Everyone gathered in the main auditorium of Beacon for the dueling class with Glenda Goodwitch. Once there Shadow whispered into Blake's ear that he: "Can't believe that Jared has to do everyone's homework..."

Blake smiled and rolled her eyes and then looked back at the stage where Goodwitch was about to speak.

Goodwitch: "Remember. After the fight is done, you are free to go back to your dorms and do as you please. However during the fight you abide by the rules we've established and follow them firmly. Once your Aura goes into the red, you will be marked 'out.' Is this clear?"

The whole auditorium rang with an echoing "yes, ma'am."

Goodwitch: "Good. We will now be randomly selecting the next two pairs to fight each other."

The screens above on the left and rights of the stage flashed with the faces of all the sudents inside of the auditorium. On the left side, the faces of Shadow and Blake Belladonna stopped on the screen. Blake looked at Shadow with reassurement, knowing that they were a good pair to be chosen.

The screens continued to flicker and the faces of Jared and Yang Xiao Long stopped on the board. Blake frowned at the Deja Vu she suddenly felt. She looked at Shadow who looked back with the same look, fear but a hint of determination.

The teams stepped onto the stage on their respective sides. This time, it would be different...

Goodwitch: "Are you four ready?"

Blake, Shadow, Yang, Jared: "We are."

Goodwitch: "You may begin when notified."

-FIVE-

Blake grabbed Gambol Shround and prepared herself to charge at Jared, just like before.

-FOUR-

She looked at Shadow for one last time as she wished him good luck with controlling himself.

-THREE-

She looked for any weakness on Jared's armor...

-TWO-

She could see that his right leg was a bit higher than his left.

-ONE-

She had a plan...

-BEGIN!-

She rushed towards Jared and stepped right, attempting to have him mirror and step left. He did. She took advantage of this and used Jared's high right leg to trip him. As he fell, Blake used her speed to kick Jared into the air as high as she could. With as high as he got, she was able to knock him back towards the ground pretty hard...

-BUZZER-

Jared's Aura reached zero and he looked up at Blake and said: "Nice... but you didn't have to hit me so hard..."

She smiled at Jared but realised the fight was not over. She looked back to Shadow's confrontation with Yang and heard the buzzer. Her eyes widened with surprise as she walked back over to Shadow.

-ONE MINUTE EARLIER-

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Shadow made a grab for his dark sword and ran straight towards Yang. She did the same, but she seemed to have lighter steps than she normally would whilst fighting. She managed to land a hit on Shadow's ribs when he swung high. 'No... I will not lose...!' Shadow felt himself getting hotter and he looked at himself and back at Yang who wore a very fearful face... 'No... I can't use it. Not now.' Shadow's black flames died down and he took a deep breath. He looked back at Yang and nodded, who seemed to be more confident now. She ran towards him and made a wide right swing for his head. Shadow ducked under this and swept Yang's feet out from under her. She seemed surprised that he was able to see that opening as she was really low in her swing. Shadow then took advantage of her being on the ground and put his blade towards her neck.

-BUZZER-

Shadow lowered his sword and smiled to Yang who was in relief that he didn't lose control this time. Shadow felt a hand touch his right shoulder and turned to see that it was Blake.

Blake: "I'm so glad you managed to keep yourself in control..."

Shadow: "Oh trust me, I am too."

Shadow felt a tap at his left shoulder and turned to see Jared who was looking at him sternly. Shadow wondered what he had to say...

Instead of saying anything, Jared raised his right hand directly in front of his face, closed his eyes, gave a thumbs up and then smiled.

Jared: "You made good progress today."

Goodwitch: "It's all well and good that you are all safe but we still have other people that need to get into fights. Please be on your way..."

Shadow: "Oh, right! Yes, ma'am!"

Everyone walked off stage laughing and being reminiscent about the whole thing, complementing each others attacks and successes.

Soon though, everyone headed off to their dorms where they would sleep. Most of them, anyway.

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

Jared laid in his bed looking around the room, at his teammates who were sleeping. TJ and GT seemed to be sleeping soundly and Titus was smiling and talking in his sleep. Jared, whose hands were behind his head as he lay there, rolled his eyes and wondered at what he could do to entertain himself. When he realised there wasn't a whole lot he could do while staying in bed and that he couldn't go to sleep, he got up and got dressed in some casual clothes to step out.

Once outside Jared sighed and started walking. He was wondering about today, and how much things have changed since he got here. He was no longer alone... He had someone. Ya-

Yang: "Whoa!"

The two ran into each other and Yang tripped which Jared responded to by saving her by the hip.

They looked each other in the eyes both realizing what happened and Jared put Yang back on her feet.

Jared looked into Yangs eyes and said: "Hey..."

Yang: "Fancy seeing you here..."

Jared: "Yeah... Deja Vu, right?"

Yang: "I feel it, too. Care to break the chain?"

Jared: "Don't mind if I do."

Jared leaned in and kissed Yang who gladly hugged him tighter and stood there kissing for a warm seven seconds.

They finally parted and held hands as they walked down the hallway.

Jared: "Hey, Yang?"

Yang who was still blushing from earlier looked at him and replied: "Humm?"

Jared was uncertain quite of what to say to her... so he just said the first thing that came to mind.

Jared: "I love you... I love this world... I sometimes wonder if it's a dream. If it's a dream, I hope it doesn't end. I don't want to lose you..."

Yang's eyes dilated and held his hand tighter, saying: "It's not a dream... you won't. This is happening. I'm here for you, always."

Jared's mind stayed on that thought for awhile before replying: "I hope you're right."

Yang stopped, turned Jared and kissed him somewhat agressively for a little bit. "Still unconvinced?"

Jared who was certain on reality and fiction replied sarcastically: "Maybe..."

Yang rolled her eyes and hugged him tight.

Yang: "I knew you would say that."

And on that note the two separated and had a long walk around Beacon. However whilst walking in front of Beacon and stargazing, they noticed that on the horizon, a bright light was flashing.

Jared: "Hey... what's that?"

Yang: "Could be trouble. Let's check it out!"

Jared: "Right behind you!"

The two ran off towards the light... having no idea the danger that they would face alone... together. 


	11. Chapter 11

NOTE: Sorry for getting this chapter out later than usual! We usually have good schedules for this but some stuff came up so we couldn't quite release it as early as usual. Also: We will not be posting a chapter tomorrow and will be bvack the day after. We hope. In any case, I (Jared) hope you enjoy! -"Jared" &amp; Frogy117

Chapter 11

-Jared 3rd person POV-

Jared was in a stationary prone inside of a bush that had a view of an abandoned storehouse just outside of the agricultural district. Everything was normal except this branch that seemed larger than usual... but he paid no attention to it. Yang came up by his left and laid down next to him. As Jared looked through his helmet's binoculars, he felt her presence. He looked over and greeted her cheerfully.

Jared: "Hey Yang. Wait till you get a load of this..."

Yang seemed curious and grabbed Jared's binocs. As she looked at the storehouse through the futuristic device, her face lit up and said: "this looks like it should be fun..."

Jared knowing already that Yang was itching for a fight responded with: "Not so fast. Something's not quite right and I'd like to figure out what before we rush in."

Yang: "But that's no fun!"

Jared: "Yes, but it's safe."

Yang got up and brushed herself off.

Yang: "Since when did anyone that got anywhere care about safe?"

She took a running start towards the wall of the storehouse and gave it a hard punch with her Ember Celica explosive shells assisting the blow. The wall instantly caved in and made a nice hole for the two to enter, but for whoever was inside of the storehouse to stop their expiriments and get a good luck at what interrupted them.

'Dammit Yang!' Jared got up, gritted his teeth, put his binocs back on the top of his helmet and ran into the storehouse.

The dust clouded his vision but he could hear the exchanging of blows... and the firing of a blaster? The sound of the discharge sounded more explosive though... Jared could not get a visual on any movement from the dust. He turned on his SBH visor's thermal vision and took a look around. He saw a heat spike in the corner of his eye, Yang. He looked closer to see a slightly less intense heat coming from... a 21st? This 21st was weilding a red sword... 'Zack...' Jared, feeling pumped and enraged at his traitorous brother who had slashed his leg and left him to die. He reached for his katanas and took a deep breath. He grinned as he saw the movement slow in front of him and he ran straight behind Zack to hit him in the face with the bottom of his dark katanas. He released his breath and saw as Zack was flung towards the wall from the impact of the hit. Zack, in full Nova armor and helmet got up and looked at Jared specifically, no longer paying much attention to Yang. He sheathed his sword and reached for the Z6 which was slung onto his back. He spun up his Z6, which was noticeably shorter than the last time he saw it, and Jared noticed something odd... the gas was being plasma-ized... 'red?!'Jared jumped out of the way before the plasma began to be shot. He dodged the shots which were ricocheting all around the room and hitting the crates which were full of feathers. As Jared looped back around to start running back at Zack, he heard the explosion of Ember Celica hitting a person. And indeed, once he laid eyes on Zack again, he was in combat with Yang, who was pounding away at him. He was getting destroyed by Yang's flurry of punches and kicks as he swing wildly at her with his scimitar-esque sword. Jared took a deep breath, which slowed down everthing around him. He ran towards Zack and swung as forcefully as he could with his katanas. The force of the impact was so large that even while slowed, he could see the scimitar crack. As he released his breath, the scimitar shattered into pieces and made noises as they hit the ground. Zack seemed to be furious now and pulled out his Z6, which he loaded with a different type of ammo this time. Jared watched closely as the barrel turned white and began to spin. Jared again dodged out of the way as Zack began to wildly shoot around the room shooting at both Yang and Jared. As the two managed to dodge his shots, they could hear him laugh. He began to laugh wildly as he concentrated on a small crate of dust which was in the corner. The box heated until the dust which was inside combusted and exploded. The two were flung to the floor as Zack still laughed. Jared's vision was blurred as he saw Zack walk towards him, still spun up. He could see the chamber again begin to heat up and begin to start the firing sequence. The Z6 didn't fire though, but the sound still rang out. Zack looked at it confused, attempting to get it to work he punched the barrels a bit. He tried to fire at Jared one last time, to which the Z6 responded by explofing in his hands. It did not damage him, as Nova armor was blast resistant. He threw the shell of his gun to the ground as he took out an emergency vibroblade. He walked up to Jared, and grabbed him by the neck. As he picked him up he began to laugh maniacally. Jared's vision was fading in and out until he just shut his eyes to keep himself and awake.

Yang: "...Jared...!"

Zack: "Hahaha! Looks like you're as weak as your commander. May you find some sort of meaning in he-"

Jared suddenly hit the floor and caught his breath. When he reopened his eyes he saw his helmet laying in front of him. He reached for it, picked it up and put it back on his head. Once he did so, he looked over to where Zack may have gone. He saw a set of Nova armor laying on the ground, with the wearer still inside. Jared stood up and got a good look at the body. The helmet had a smoking hole in it, from a blaster shot. Jared looked around to see where the source of such a shot may have come from. He looked out of the storehouse (where the explosion put a hole in the wall) to see that a high-quality set of SBH armor was resting on a branch with a DC17M sniper rifle. Jared watched as he saw him wave. He figured by the armor and the cocky attitude that it was Shadow.

Jared: "Dammit... Shadow..."

Jared turned to Yang who was laying on the floor. She seemed to be breathing a bit hard so Jared ran over to see what was wrong.

Jared: "How you holding up, gold?"

Yang smiled and looked over at the corpse of Zack.

Yang: "Better than him."

Jared smirked and checked to see if she had broken anything with some basic medical training that all SBH receive to check for broken bones or fractures. He searched carefully, trying not to do anything too undignifiable but Yang didn't seem to care. She didn't seem to have broken anything so she was good to go.

Jared: "Well, you're good to go. Want some help up?"

Yang: "Yes, please."

Jared helped Yang to her feet and she gave him a kiss on the cheek for being so helpful. Shadow walked towards them and took off his helmet. He smiled and walked right towards Jared.

Jared: "You son of a gun... late as usual."

Shadow: "Couldn't let you have all the fun, even though it seemed like you had it under control."

Jared couldn't stand Shadow's sarcasm so he rolled his eyes and gave him a playful punch on the arm.

Jared: "Something was wrong with Zack's Z6... it was shooting non-standard Republic gases. I fear that this was the gun that Machine was talking about."

Shadow's face faded from a smile to a frown. "You're sure...?"

Jared looked over to a wall that Zack had hit instead of him. It was covered in holes instead of burn marks.

Jared: "Does it look like I'm unsure?"

Shadow: "Quit the sarcasm, this is serious. Although they don't have many shots, even ONE of them could've perforated through both sides of your armor, Jared!"

Jared's face didn't fade from a smile however. His naivety and silliness blinded him from realising that he could've died. He instead focussed on the fact that one of four dangers were taken down that night.

Jared: "Nice shot by the way."

Yang: "Yeah... really wish you would've done that sooner."

Shadow smiled and said: "Meh, what can I say?"

The three began to walk back towards Beacon. Jared was helping Yang walk because she was limping, and he needed to make sure that nothing could get seriously damaged by not helping.

Jared himself though had no idea the damage that he himself had sustained.

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Teams RWBYS and TJGJ were sitting inside of the latter's dorm, awaiting an intel debrief courtesy of Jared, Yang and Shadow. Everyone was sitting, chattering on the floor as Jared stepped in front of the group and cleared his throat. Shadow was off to the side watching his second in command grow up and handle things for himself.

Jared: "Alright everyone, listen up. Shadow and I have learned some... disturbing news."

The crowd shushed and put on a collective serious face.

Jared: "Machine... lied. Their new dust-based blasters are in full production."

TJ frowned and shook his head towards the ground.

Jared: "Last night, me, Shadow and of course, Yang, found Zack just off the boundaries of the agricultural zone in an abandoned storehouse. He seemed to be testing a blaster weapon that was based on dust. We managed to find a camera that was remotely broadcasting to a nearby receiver. We're currently having some other students look into where it was broadcasting to and should have that information within the month. However the fact of the matter is: Machine lied to us. We will find him and punish him later, but the guns that he revealed to us are a threat. Be aware, but do not stress about it. Just know that they do exist. If you come into contact with a Nova member or Torchwick himself, get help immediately from your scroll. That is all."

The crowd began to talk to each other again as Jared walked towards Shadow. Shadow nodded at him and said: "nice work."

Jared: "How good is nice work when we have our own brothers fighting against us. Be careful, Shadow, they are a threat, no matter how much we used to make fun of them."

Jared turned and walked away. Shadow then looked to the crowd, which was missing a couple people, and began to think. 'Maybe he's right... we should be getting ready for them.'

Blake: "Something wrong, Shadow?"

Shadow: "It's nothing, Blake. I'll catch up with you later. I gotta do some thinking."

Shadow then walked out of team TJGJ's dorm and started back towards his own.

-Blake 3rd person POV-

Blake had seen Shadow walk out and wondered what was wrong. She decided to follow him and think of what to say or do when he arrived at his dorm.

'He must be tired. He needs rest... but he's also been alone for the past 24 hours... he could use some company. What about both?'

Blake had an idea in her head, an idea that would lead to something she never thought would happen that night, but eventually would've.

Once Shadow had reached the door of his dorm, Blake came up behind him and hugged him from behind. "What's wrong, Shadow...?"

Shadow stopped walking into the door but left it open.

Shadow: "Blake... I'm fine. Really!"

Blake knew this was a lie.

Blake: "No you're not! You've been really distant lately and kind of cold. What's wrong...?"

Shadow: "It's just... Blake... I'm worried about losing everyone. But not just everyone, losing myself. Listen to me, I already have! I don't want to lose you... I don't want to lose anyone..."

Blake looked at him kind of confused. 'Is he really that paranoid...? What can I do to ease that...'

Blake stared into his eyes deeply and said: "You won't lose me. I promise."

Shadow: "I still worry... nothing can make me stop worrying for you, Blake."

Blake pulled him into a forwards hug and held him tight.

Blake: "I know."

Blake then kissed him on the lips. Shadow pushed a little more and Blake seemed to be interested in seeing how far this would go. It got to a point where Shadow pulled inside of his dorm and shut the door.

No one heard from the two for the rest of the night. Almost everyone... 


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 (NOTE: No new chapter until Sunday so please bear with us)

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Shadow was watching with horror under Machine's boot as he held Blake by the neck. Tj ran in and tackled machine, but it did not do much. As TJ hit the floor, disoriented by Machine throwing him off of him, Machine shot him in the head. Shadow yelled and became very angry, but no black flames were released... Blake called out to Shadow pleadingly as Machine raised his vibroblade to her neck.

Blake: "Shadow..."

Shadow: "No..."

Blake: "Shadow..."

Shadow: "No...!"

Blake: "Shadow!"

Shadow: "Noo!"

As machine's arm jerked to make the final cut, Shadow jolted forwards on his bed. He looked around frantically trying to find Blake, who was next to him, wearing a tank top and panties, holding his shoulder.

Blake: "Are you okay...?"

Shadow: "I'm fine..." His voice trailed off with relief.

Blake: "Was it another nightmare?"

Shadow: "Yeah... in my dream I almost lost you.

Blake smiled and reassured: "Well I'm still here..."

Shadow also smiled and leaned in to kiss her, when he suddenly heard banging, likely coming from the hallway outside of the dorm, and stopped himself.

Shadow: "Do you hear that?"

Blake's ears twitched as she responded nervously: "I do."

Shadow got out of bed to go to his door. Once he was in front of it and reaching for the handle, the door went flying into his face and kept moving until both the door and shadow hit the wall.

Shadow groggily swore: "Ah... dammit!"

He looked up to see Machine holding a blaster to his face.

Machine: "Hm... as tempting as this is to just put a hole in your head and end it, it isn't on the agenda..."

Machine shot Shadow's right knee with a dust-bolt shot, which disabled him and put him in great pain. As he laid against that wall, swearing, he watched Machine walk over towards the bed, where a certain Faunus was looking at him with concern.

Blake: "Shadow!"

Machine: "Hello, little lady... let's take a walk."

Shadow knew what Machine was trying to do and would not stand by to let it happen.

Shadow: "NO!"

Shadow's black flames emerged, some of them going towards his wound, cauterizing the blood inside of his knee allowing him to move a little bit. He stood up slowly and began to run with a limp towards Machine. Machine heard his approach and elbowed him in the face, knocking him to the floor. Shadow watched with horror, as Machine picked up Blake from his bed and hold her by the neck. He could tell that she was choking and was getting really angry now.

Shadow: "NO! BLAKE!" Blake turned her head and looked at him with sorrowful eyes... pleading for help with the one expression.

Machine laughed for a second and grabbed his vibroknife. He was about to use it to knock her out but before he could, an SBH in all black armor with a flaming blue sword on his back tackled Machine to the ground. As machine shook him off, he shot the SBH in the helmet with his DC15P sidearm while he was still on the ground trying to get up. Shadow looked at him and realized what was going on...

Shadow: "TJ! Damn you, Machine!" Shadow's Black flames were practically heating the whole room, now. Machine's weather resistant armor withstood it, though.

Machine: "What's wrong, Shadow? Cat got your tongue? Well, you might want to simmer down, because instead of roasting me, you'll end up hurting 'girly' here instead."

Shadow's face grimaced with realization as he let out his angry breath and the flames died down to a controllable level.

Shadow: "Don't hurt her..."

Machine shook his head, inside his helmet: "Oh no worries, I won't. But I can't say the same for Shash."

He turned back to Blake and was about to strike her head with the butt of his vibroblade. Shadow closed his eyes so that he would not see Blake being hurt... Just when all had been lost for Shadow, he heard the breaking of armor. He reopened his eyes to see that a flaming blue sword was right through both the back and the front of Machine's armor, effectively impaling him.

TJ: "This is for lying to us..."

TJ took the sword out and slashed diagonally across Machine's back.

TJ: "This is for hurting someone we care about!"

TJ then took the sword and readied himself. He completely burst into flames.

TJ: "AND THIS, IS FOR BETRAYING US ALL!"

TJ practically screamed this as he slashed right through the armor of the Nova trooper, cutting him in half, horizontally. His body whilst flying began to decintegrate into ashes.

There were no traces of blood across the room, just the disgusting stench of burnt clone armor.

TJ looked at Shadow, with a hole still in his helmet near his eye.

TJ: "Are you alright, sir? And you, Madam?"

Shadow looked at TJ and half smirked: "My knees a little messed up but I'm alright. Blake... are you okay...?"

Shadow turned his head to Blake who was rubbing her neck softly and nodding. She looked like she was crying, but the light made it difficult to discerne if this was fact or fiction.

Just then, Ozpin comes through the door and makes a remark.

Ozpin: "I heard complaints about noise, possibly from a party and a bad stench from multiple students. It seems the door is against the wall so I assume the party was either dangerously large, or that it was not a party at all..."

Ozpin scanned the room, he looked at TJ, who had a hole in his helmet, a pile of ashes on the floor near the corner, looking to be a combination of red and white ashes and lastly looking over at Shadow who was cuddling shirtless but with pajama pants with a mostly nude lady. Shadow caught Ozpin's eye and quickly took his arm back from around Blake to wave it in front of his chest frantically, giving the signal that 'I promise nothing weird happened!'

Ozpin: "Well then... I assume that you'll be needing to clean up in here. Give me the story of what happened tomorrow... I have some reading to do."

Shadow: "Of course, headmaster."

As Ozpin walked out of the room, Shadow sighed, wondering 'When did things get so complicated...?'

-GT 3rd Person POV-

GT awoke from his slumber. He looked in his dorm to see that everyone was there except for TJ.

'I wonder where he got off to?

GT hopped out of bed to go get ready for the day. He took a shower, put his armor on, checked his weapons and put them where they are stored on his armor.

GT Walked out of team TJGJ's dorm, walking towards the cafeteria. He realised that it was early, only being about seven 'o clock, but he wanted to know where his brother was off to. He found that no one but the janitors who were cleaning and preparing the cafeteria for the onslaught of hungry students were working busily. He kept on walking and thinking to where he might be. He decided to head back to his dorm, already spending about fifteen minutes looking around most of the recreational areas of Beacon and decided to head back and wait for the breakfast bell. Once he reached his door, he could hear a commotion from just down the hall. He went to investigate and found that there was a large crowd of people at Shadow's dorm.

As GT gently pushed his way into the crowd, he heard questions and statements like; "What happened," "How'd your door hit the wall," and "You woke me up last night!"

Once GT managed to get inside of Shadow's dorm, he proceeded to see that TJ was at the front answering questions and that Shadow and Blake were in the back snoozing. Odd that they could sleep through this, but he pushed it aside to instead ask his brother things.

GT: "Excuse me... pardon... Uhh, TJ. The heck is going on?"

TJ: "Something happened last night. It wasn't pretty and I'm not proud of what I did but it was necessary. Excuse me!" TJ raised his voice to speak to the crowd: "Would everyone kindly step away from the dorm. We have sleeping students and a case that will be resolved later. You can ask us questions later but for now we need to clean this up. Thank you."

The crowd began to disperse and TJ turned to GT. GT noticed that the helmet that TJ was holding had a hole in the visor, just slightly right of the center.

GT: "What happened to your helmet?"

TJ sighed and decided to just tell the story. But wanted to do so in a quiet manner. He pulled GT inside into the opposite corner from Shadow and Blake.

TJ: "Look, Machine infiltrated Beacon's automated security last night. He was able to slip through undetected but little did he know that I had my own security devices in place at each of our dorms. It allows me to monitor if someone not welcome has arrived. So when Machine tripped the silent alarm for Shadow's dorm, I came rushing down here to find that he was about to kidnap Blake. Shadow, being shirtless, on the floor and having a hole in his knee, could do nothing about the situation. Blake was almost knocked out from the lack of oxygen reaching her lungs. As soon as I analyzed what I can do, I decided that just rushing in was the best strategy. As soon as I got inside, I tackled Machine to the ground and began to fight for his weapon. He managed to push me off of him however and shoot me in the head. However, what I was surprised to find was that the bolt may have breached the helmet, but did not breach my facial structure. I'm not quite sure what happened, but I am sure however that it saved my life. I was able to get back up when Machine was not aware and stab him in the back. Little did I know I have the power to turn a person's body to ash with my sword..." GT took a look at TJ's sword and raised his eyebrows in surprise. "All came to an end when Ozpin came in and say we clean this up. Shadow, Blake and I worked to clear the area, but when I reached the ashes of Machine's body, I found this." TJ took out a small tablet from his utility belt.

GT: "A datapad?"

TJ: "Yes. It has all the intel from every Nova op, every encounter, and what's best, designs for their weapons and plans to use them."

GT: "I knew that Machine was a foolish trooper but this takes the cake. What he may lack in life he definitely makes up in combat and technologic enhancements, though..."

TJ: "Indeed. And I believe we can use this."

A whisper could be heard from across the room. "GT, tell the others to meet at that abandoned warehouse Jared, Yang and I fought Zack at at 10 'o clock PM. Tell Jared specifically though to meet me at my dorm at 8 'o clock PM."

GT turned to see a Shadow grimacing from the pain the hole in his knee was giving him, but a stern look of determination and drive that GT knew well from the Marshall.

GT: "Yes, sir."

Shadow: "TJ, I want you to see how far this intel goes, and then inform me if anything else you find can be of use. Understood?"

TJ: "Yes, sir."

Shadow: "Dismissed..." Shadow went back to cuddling with Blake in the corner, the latter of which, GT noticed wasn't wearing a whole lot... he had questions but knew the commander could never do such a thing.

As the two stepped out, GT held his hand up to TJ for a high five to which TJ asked: "What's this for?"

GT: "Taking down one of the four people we are up against. That makes two. We're halfway done with the Nova's terror..."

TJ took the high five and the two walked back to theirs and team RWBYS dorm to spread the news.

It wouldn't be long though until they had to end this fight. It was sooner in sight than they thought...

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

Jared was on his way in his SBH armor walking towards Shadow's dorm. He was wondering what Shadow had planned to ask.

Once he reached the door to Shadow's Dorm, he knocked twice. "Come in," he heard from within.

Shadow was sitting on his bed in full armor waiting for that night most likely.

Shadow: "We need to discuss our next move."

Jared: "What do you mean?"

Shadow picks up Machine's datapad and shows it to Jared.

Shadow: "Everything is on here. We can no longer be on the defense, we can be on the offensive line fighting them in their territory now.

Jared's eyes widened with surprise as to if he was lying or not. As he scrolled through what was on the datapad, he saw that this was true.

Jared: "This is incredible!"

Shadow: "Yes. But what about the rest of my team? Are they ready to face off against whatever Shash has planned for us?"

Jared grimaced in thought. 'No... they're not. But how can we prepare them?

Shadow: "We have intel, but nothing else to go on but our instinct after we commit to a plan. What do you think we can do?

Jared pondered on this question and finally gave them an answer.

Jared: "Where are you going from this?"

Shadow Thought for a moment then said "Hm... Well..."


	13. Chapter 13

Note: Thanks for reading! It means a lot to us that so many people even click on chapter 1. Even if only 60-70 of you make it to here, we appreciate it. And so, that is why we want you to vote for the rest of this "volume" and the next what the rating will be. Me (Jared) and frogy have been talking about it and we wanted to give you all a choice on how you want the story to be. So here you are! Vote here once you are done with this chapter (or before) because the link will be up here AND down there. /2151905 strawpoll dot me (put the link together) Thanks again for reading! -Jared

Chapter 13

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-  
Shadow walked into the storehouse to find everyone patiently standing waiting for the last two to arrive, him and Jared. He stepped in front of them and Jared stepped into the crowd. He cleared his voice and began.

Shadow: "Thank you all for coming. You may or may not have heard but last night I was attacked while me and... uhhh Blake were sleeping." Shadow flinched as he saw Ruby and Yang giggle as Blake blushed. "No... nothing like that happened... but that is not why I am here. I am here because we were attacked by Machine whilst we were sleeping. Off of this datapad we recovered from his body, we have the reason why. It was apparently was to kidnap Blake and demoralize the rest of us. However backwards that notion is, we must talk about it. They are attacking us in our own territory. Even though Machine was very lucky in getting in, planning is a necessary course of action for the future. So, from this datapad, we have learned many things about the Nova and their plans... and found out that there is not three... but all nine Nova were transported here. We took down two, so that leaves seven left, including Shash. We've also retrieved from the datapad the schematics to their dust blasters. So SBH, rejoice as we can study this and use it for our own purposes. Team RWBYS... bear with us. If they attacked us, they're sure to come after you as well. This is a declaration of war. It's us against them. There's not that many of them, we as a team, separated or not, can take them down. No... will take them down. So, SBH, through miss Schnee's company research, we've found a way to upgrade our blasters to dust but without the degredation cost. The only issue, is that the ammo is expensive, and we ourselves cannot steal it. Use it in good health and only if you need to. We will be working on a special attachment for our DC17Ms in a second here after we finish. Well... that about wraps it up actually. Everyone be on your guard, I may call you back here in the coming days to plan our counterattack. Thank you for coming."

Shadow let out a heavy breath after talking so much and looked around. Everyone's face was somewhat stern but no fear was being shown. Turning away from the mass, he turned his gaze to the four other SBH.

Shadow: "With me."

SBH: "Yes, sir!"

The five walked to the back of the storehouse where there were some workbenches with metal plates and tools.

Shadow: "You four will be upgrading your weapons and armor so that you will be more protected from the Nova's blasters. Your armor by default is not as good as the old stuff that I'm wearing. You may customize it on your free time, but make sure it stays within regulation. Got it?"

SBH: "Yes, sir."

Shadow nodded and said: "Good. Meet me back at Beacon once you are finished. Today is the weekend which means that there are no classes. I expect you all to be thinking about becoming better, though. Nova is no normal adversary. Every encounter we've had with them, they've almost bested us. Get to work, see you back at Beacon soon."

The SBH saluted him and he returned the favor. He turned around and walked out of the workshop heading back towards the school for Hunters and Huntresses in training. He sighed a long sigh and looked at the sky, which was dark and cloudy. He felt a drop of rain hit him in the forehead and he looked back where he was going. He put his helmet on and continued onto Beacon.

-Two Weeks Later-

-Blake 3rd Person POV-

Blaked found Shadow eating in his dorm in some leisure clothes. She knocked and watched as Shadow wiped his mouth with a napkin and turned off his scroll.

Shadow: "Hey, what brings you here, love?"

Blake smiled at the compliment and asked: "I was wondering if you wanted to spar a little bit. We've been pretty relaxed for the past weeks. We should practice a little bit."

Shadow looked at her with a lazy look on his face but accepted nonetheless. He got out of bed and walked with Blake towards the lockers where they got into their combat gear and walked out to the Sparring arena.

Blake: "Alright. On your go."

Blake looked to see Shadow take a deep breath and count down from three.

Shadow: "Three... two... one... go!"

Blake took out Gambol Shroud and unsheathed the main blade. She dashed towards Shadow at the abnormal faunus speed she enjoyed. She took a slash at Shadow's drawn dark sword and the blade clanged off as she dodged under his right arm whilst kicking out his right foot. Shadow tripped onto the floor and Blake smiled.

Blake: "You definitely need some work, Shadow. You're never going to beat anyone at that state."

Shadow cringed at that statement and got up.

Blake flames appeared on his sword and he turned around with a snarl on his face.

Blake: 'Whoops. That might have been a bit too much.'

Shadow dashed towards blake at full speed, hitting her in the gut knocking the air out of her and sending her straight to the ground. She looked up to see Shadow's sword pointed at her at just the safe distance. The black flames dissipated from his sword and his face was a smile.

Shadow: "How was that?"

Blake: "I disliked it, you were a bit sloppy but you did catch me by surprise which isn't easy. Good job."

Shadow laughed a short laugh and held out his hand to pick up the Faunus. Blake gladly grabbed it as he picked her up and held her hand. Shadow pulled her into a hug and said: "Thank you, Blake."

Blake wondering where this came from responded: "For what?"

Shadow: "For being the caring person you are... and for allowing such a gem to be called mine."

Blake blushed and gave him a quick kiss.

Blake: "Hey, I'm getting hungry. Feel like lunch, yet?"

Shadow nodded and said: "I know a good place. I went out with the SBH a couple of days to it."

Blake: "Sounds good to me."

The two walked out of the main atrium of Beacon where many fights and speaches were given to head towards lunch.

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

The warmth of Yang's hand in Jared's always made him feel at peace. Even with how energetic the girl is, she always nullified any negative feelings Jared had. The two were walking towards a small family pub inside Vale.

Yang: "So where are we going?"

Jared: "We're heading to a small pub inside Vale that me and the other SBH went to a couple days ago. The food's good and cheap! So how could we not resist?"

Yang smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "Heheh, you've always been a cute one."

Jared's cheeks glowed as he smiled and kept walking.

Once the two got to the restaraunt, they saw two familiar faces.

Jared: "Hey, Shadow! What's up?"

Shadow and Blake looked up from each other's gaze to see Jared and Yang standing at the entrance.

Shadow smiled and waved to the two in a motion that said 'come and sit.'

The two walked over to their booth and sat next to each other. Blake and Shadow sitting across from them already had their food and were half finished. Jared frowned at this but smiled again when he realised it could give him and Yang alone time when they left.

Shadow: "So what are you two doing here?"

Yang: "Same as you two, getting food."

Shadow: "Oh. We're almost done, a shame you weren't here earlier."

Jared: "Eh, what can you do?" He turned to a restaraunt waiter and called for him. "Waiter! Yes, can I get the number five with a cola? And what about you, Yang?"

Yang: "Surprise me, but make it spicy."

The waiter smirked at the 'surprise me' comment and wrote something down. He nodded then turned to walk to the kitchen.

Blake: "So, how has you two's day been?"

Yang smirked and replied: "We've been kind of 'Yang'in around all day with each other." She nudged Jared in the ribs at the comment. He responded by smiling with a smile of 'oh my gosh, that's so bad it's good.'

Shadow and Blake nervously laughed at the joke and Blake continued. Blake: "Well that's good. You know, I never predicted you two getting together."

Jared: "I'm just gonna pretend that you meant that under good pretences."

Blake waved her hands in front of her: "No no! Not to be offensive, but it completely took me by surprise that you two were into each other. Shadow seemed unsurprised though."

Blake looked at Shadow who looked back at her and then to Jared and Yang saying: "Well, I think it's just good to go with the flow and not judge anything by looks."

Yang seemed satisfied with that comment and looked hungrily as she saw from half-way across the restaraunt a plate of food heading straight towards them.

She put her hands out towards the person who walked right past them.

Yang: "Aww..."

The waiter turned around and smiled saying: "Haha, you have no idea how much that makes my day. Sorry, folks, just trying to make the job a little more fun. Here's your food."

He passed to Jared a plate with two bread wafers with a patty of meat and cheese in between. The plate also contained rectangular fried potatoes and a cola. He then passed to Yang a plate of spicy looking dip and chips with a cup of very warm milk.

Jared passed him the payment and a little extra as tip for great service and attitude. They began to dig into their food greedily as they had not eaten much that day. Jared's sandwich seemed to be very juicy but at the same time so rich in flavor he could almost melt in his seat. He turned to Yang who seemed to be enjoying her chips an dip, which looked incredibly spicy for his tastes.

Shadow and Blake had finished their meal slower than the two in front of them. Once they did, they began to get out of the booth.

Shadow: "Well, it was great to see you two, but we have to get going."

Jared simply nodded to him as he was too busy enjoying his sandwich. As Shadow and Blake walked out, he nudged a bit closer to Yang, who didn't mind the proximity change.

Jared: "So how's your... food?"

Yang: "Heh, spicy. Very spicy. Want to try some?" Her mouth was a wide smile as she held up a chip with a little dip to Jared. Feeling brave he accepted and ate the chip.

His pupils must've shrunk to an inhumane size as his mouth was set ablaze. He reached for his drink slowly as not to alarm anyone and drank almost half of the cup. With his throat still burning he turned to Yang and said: "Wow, you weren't kidding. That's spicy."

Yang smiled and laughed as she gave him a hug before returning to her food.

After the two finished their food, they took a small walk, talking about exploits in their childhood and what they had planned for the future. Once they ran out of places to walk and were next to the Cafeteria the two stopped and held each other close. Nobody was up as it was very late at night and everyone was asleep. Once the two put a small ammount of distance from each other, they looked into each other's eyes.

Yang: "...I love you, Jared."

Jared: "I love you too, Yang."

The two kissed and started to glow more and more. Jared was feeling warmer by the second. He lost track of time standing there locked with Yang. The kiss became a bit more intense as Yang pulled him into a small closet where they would 'Yang out' for the rest of the night in each other's embrace.

Jared never thought a bad thought that night... only thoughts about how incredible the situation was. 'Hope nobody finds us here before morning... that would be something to explain.' Jared thought that as he sat in the closet laying in the corner with Yang wearing leisure clothes but his shirt off. She had also taken off some of her clothes to be more comfortable but she was also dressed modestly. Jared planted a quick kiss on Yang's lips as he went to sleep laying against the wall with her laying against him.

'I hope tomorrow is just as good as today...' Heh. Jared knew this couldn't be true. After all, he never had great luck.

Note: Thanks for reading guys! This chapter is a bit short because it's a buildup chapter. We also just had to do something for 2000 views so we did! There you go. An ending with me and Yang. I hope it's enjoyable to you as it was very embarrassing for me to write. So yeah. Here's the link again. /2151905


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14.

(NOTE: Chapter 14 is here! This time it is written by Frogy117 &amp; edited by Jared. We hope you enjoy and do not forget to cast your vote on the poll from last chapter about the rating. Hope you all enjoy this chapter- Frogy117) Note: (Apolgises for no new chapter in a week our time have been busy we are working as hard as we can)

-Jared 3rd person POV-

Jared wakes up and assumes its morning so he gets up and opens the door to the closest than stops dead in his tracks to find that Shadow is standing there with his arms crossed with a evil smirk across his face. Shadow finally speaks.

Shadow: "So this is what you mean by 'Yang out'" Shadow marks with air quotes.

Jared: "Go f..." he sighed "...just don't ask. Nothing 'intimate' happened, we just cuddled."

Shadow bursts out laughing while Jared still has a frown upon his face then Shadow collects himself and speaks again.

Shadow: "Anyways, I hope your ready to showcase your armor that you upgraded otherwise its not going to be a good day for you. Get the rest of the team and tell them the same and meet in my dorm within ten minutes."

Jared just sighs and agreed.

Shadow walks off and Jared goes back into the closest to gather his things and get ready for the day. After he was dressed and had his armor on, he went to fetch the other SBH.

-Shadow 3rd person POV-

Shadow: 'They did a very good job on the armor... with a couple things here and there, but otherwise its perfect!'

Shadow is currently inspecting there armor very thoroughly and then states.

Shadow: "Great work guys you got the job done the first time. Im proud of you."

Jared: "What can I say? We're a 'Shadow' of our mentor? Eh?"

Shadow: 'Oh god, he is spending way too much time with Yang...'

Shadow: "Anyways, the main reason I brought you here is because you're not going on the next mission.

The SBH look at each other and back to Shadow then finally Titus speaks up.

Titus: "Then... who would be going...?" Titus said this with much emphasis on 'would.'

Shadow: "The rest of team RWBY. Understood?

The SBH agree, but Jared speaks up, looking a bit thoughtful.

Jared: "I still worry for Ya-" He then relises he left Yang in her closet with the attire she was wearing. And makes a mad dash out of the room to go get her. Shadow starts laughing as he falls out of his desk chair. After he collects himself he tells the team they are dismissed and goes to team RWBYs dorm to brief them.

-Weiss 3rd Person POV-

Weiss is standing in the middle of team RWBYS's room making sure her weapon has all her dust 'slots' filled when she hears a knock out the door.

Weiss: "Come in" She says with as much monotone as humanly possible.

Weiss turned to see Shadow enter and was surprised.. Shadow would almost never come in the team RWBYS dorm unless it was important.

Shadow: "Could you all line up, please?"

The team starts lining up slowly but surely but then Shadow notices Yang is in the room and forgets that Jared went to get her in the closet.

Shadow: "Err...Where is Yang?"

Ruby: "I have been wondering where she is-" She was cut off by Jared entering the room with Yang who was wearing very quickly thrown on over-clothes. Blake grins mischeviously, while Weiss and Ruby are just staring at Jared. He gets the hint and waves his hand in front of him with the signal "I promise nothing weird happened!" Then he says his goodbyes and apologies to prelude his departure.

Yang slowly wakes up and says "Hey guys!" Then notices that she is lacking some of her usual outfit so she quickly throws on the missing pieces and joins the line with a nervous grin, trying not to seem off.  
Shadow: "Would you all like to go to dinner tonight as just you four and I as a team? We havent done that in a while."

Weiss: 'Something is off about this..I bet its something else'

Weiss: "Why not? I was getting tired of Cafeteria food anyway."

Ruby: "Yeah! Team RWBYS is back together!" Ruby seemed quite energetic that day.

Blake just walks up and kisses Shadow which Yang smiles to.

Yang: "Aww... How cute!"

Blake shoots her a glare that even Shadow would have had trouble with facing and she shuts up and says she agrees to go out.

Shadow: "Meet me at the front of Beacons entrance at 5 'o clock PM, tonight. Wear something nice. Dismi- uhhh... that's all."

Shadow walks out the dorm room to prepare.

The Girls just look at each other then find the nicest clothes they can find. Blake decides to wear the same dress she did with Shadow on there first dinner together. Weiss decides her usual outfit suits every occasion. Ruby puts on a red gown and Yang wears her usual dating attire, pretty much whatever she feels like. Which just so happened to be a nice yellow T-shirt, a pair of denim pants and her usual shoes.

Weiss: "Its 4:55 you guys! We need to get to the entrance now!"

Team RWBY exits the dorm and overhears Shadow making reservations for Quoth the Raven's private party room there.

Ruby waves for the team to follow her as they go on to the restaraunt.

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Shadow: 'Where the heck are they...?' Thought Shadow as it was 5:10 and they were not there yet.

Shadow sighed and shrugged his shoulders. Turning around, he started to go inside the restaraunt. Shadow walks into Quoth the Raven and as he walks in, the Waitress tells him his seats are ready. He walks into the private room and in to his surprise that the rest of team RWBYS is there.

Blake: "Shadow, this seems a little expensive..."

Shadow: "Dont worry Blake, I can cover this. The manager owes me a favor anyway."

They decide not to waste any more time and get down to ordering their dinner. Blake gets a Salad and just when Shadow is about to cheer for her getting something other than fish she says fish salad and Shadow could've sworn he felt his eye twitch. Weiss gets a very fancy chicken and alfredo plate. Ruby gets a red salmon plate. Yang gets a burger with the same type of sauce she had at the pub the night before but to make it extra spicy. Finally, Shadow asks for the same thing as Yang.

Shadow: "Waitress could you close the door while we wait for our food?"

The waitress nods and closes the door.

Shadow: "Now the reason why I brought you guys here, is to relay that you're going on the next SBH mission. Just you four and I."

Blake smiles with curiousity, Ruby jumps in excitment, Weiss is just glaring at him and Yang is just smirking.

Shadow: Now the mission here is to take out the main designer for Shash's weapons but his name is unknown. The goal is to take him out. This is the plan. Yang you will go in and create a distraction that gets about as many of the guards out of the warehouse as possible. Ruby and Weiss will come support you. Blake and I will infiltrate through the ventilation system and take out the target. The guards being gone makes it much easier for our exfil. If we are succesful, then Shash will have a hard time making improvements to his weapons. Now, are you all ready for this?"

Team RWBY's responses varied, but all in essence agreed.

By that time the Waitress comes in with there food.

Shadow: "Our food will get cold if we dont eat so, dig in!"

Shadow than takes a huge bite of about half his burger and swallows it. His face doesnt even turn red or move.

Yang, clearly surprised with how Shadow can just down the bite without being fazed asked, "How...?"

Shadow: "I have eaten stuff spicer than this."

They finished their dinner and pay up. It came out to a staggering 1870 lien.

They then walk back to Beacon and head to their respective dorms. Shadow says he is going to plan for other things and to not disturb him unless it's important.

-Ruby 3rd person POV-

Ruby: "Team RWBY get prepared for tomorrow! We have a lot ahead of us!" she says with her quirky and energetic attitude.

Weiss: "Why would Shadow want to bring us instead of his trained team of soldiers? I just dont get it."

Yang: "Mabye he wants to see how awesome we are!"

Ruby: "Mabye he is going to recruit us into SBH!"

Blake: "Lets just see what Shadow has in store for us before we get our hopes up. Even I'm unsure of what's going to happen."

Everyone fell silent at that and finally went to sleep.

-Blake 3rd person POV-

Blake wakes up to a sudden rush of heat. She quickly notices that their air conditioner is running so she knew something was wrong. She gets up walks out of her dorm into Shadow's to find that black flames are everywhere. He was furiously holding his head and looks like he is trying to think.

Blake: "Shadow! Whats the matter?" She says in the nicest tone possible.

Shadows flames then die down a bit and he gets up to walk over to her and gives her a kiss. All traces of black flames instantly disappear after that.

Shadow: "Dont worry I was just doing some planning. Sorry if I woke you. Sometimes its very hard to control my anger when trying to plan important raids such as these. Risks and that nonsense."

Blake is trying to think of ways to help him, but Shadow interrupts her thought.

Shadow: "Thank you for sticking with me Blake. No matter how angry I've been or how much I've screwed up. You've pretty much been there at every scene."

Blake just gave him a close kiss and said: "You don't need to thank me, call it my good nature."

Shadow nods in agreement but yawns.

Blake: 'He needs rest.'

Blake: "Shadow, you should get some sleep." Blake doesnt wait for Shadow's answer as she pulls him to his bed and he gets in and she gets under the blankets with him and cuddles next to him. She then kisses him goodnight, and they asleep.

-Yang 3rd person POV-

Shadow (Via earpiece): "Start with a bang and end with a bang!"

Yang nods to herself knowing that is the code to start the distraction but before she does.

Yang: "Aww, but I like to start and end things with a Yang!" Everyone groans in the earpiece.

Yang then notices the guards are all PMCs with personal cars... she gets an idea.

She yells for the guards to look then jumps in the air and ground pounds the ground near the cars turning parts of cars into ash set some on fire and everything else just goes flying.  
The guards get up and start for Yang but when the first guard is about to reach her he is hit by ice and is frozen solid. The second guard is taken out by a red blur and falls over knocked out. The large combat boot mark on his face suggests an appearance of red riding hood.  
Yang grabs a guard and does a 3 inch punch combined with a high impact shot from her gauntlet and sends him flying into the warehouse. After a quick 15 minutes the guards are either dead, wounded or unconsious.

Yang says to the other two people with her, "That was fun! But anyways lets head back to Beacon."

The girls nod and start heading back.

-15 minutes earlier, Shadow &amp; Blake's location-

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Yang (via earpiece) I like to start and end with a Yang! Shadow and Blake just groan from the god awful pun and start running across the rooftops of the warehouses. Shadow notices two guards and he interchanges his DC17M into its grenade launcher form and fires off a round. The impact knocks the two guards off balance and they fall off the roof. Shadow then runs to the target warehouse and sees the battle going on and wishes that team luck. He sees the ventalation enterence rips the metal off then he heads down into the shaft but before he moves forwrad he is stopped by his Faunus partner. She points to the ceiling of the shaft and notices a trip mine. Shadow then quickly disables it and quickly thanks Blake and moves to the targets office. He sees the target is in a mostly soundproof room and Shadow has a hint of irony as it is similar to the fake mission he talks about a few weeks ago at dinner.

Shadow: 'All I have to do is kill him and take his tablet'

Shadow activates his hidden cuff blades. He jumped down and as silently as possible killed the target, but cleanly.

Blake: "Nice kill Shadow."

Shadow nods and grabs the tablet and scrolls through it the intel on there is amazing. He finds that he was going to send some new design specs to Nova to make the gun degration as slow as Shadows and the same ammo shadow is going after. He was going to send it to Nova today.

Shadow: 'Thank god we got here so quickly otherwise Nova would have had weapons equal to ours.'

Shadow then takes the tablet to see if any other intel is on it and then turns to notice three guards at the door but to his surprise Blake actually killed one and uses her Gambol Shroud to knock the other two in the head, incapacitating them immediately. Blake looks over at the one she hit directly and starts trembling.

Shadow walks over and hugs her.

Shadow: "Its ok, the first one is always hard, its fine. Just watch your breathing."

Blake calms down but Shadow can tell she never killed anyone before.

Shadow: "Dont worry they would have killed us, you did the right thing."

Shadow helps Blake into the airshaft and they made their way to the rooftops. As they are running Shadow radios to Yang for a status but she said they took cares of the guards 10 minutes ago and were already back at Beacon.

Shadow: 'Good job to them...That was quick'

-Blake 3rd Person POV-

Blake is thinking what Shadow has instore with the holo table he installed in his room. After some calculations he turns to everyone and speaks.

Shadow: "Alright people, team RWBYS, excellent job on the mission today. Your overall team score out of 5 is a 4.23 which is outstanding. The overall rating the SBH would have gotten is..."

Blake watches on the screen as a 4.24 pops up under the SBH team. She realizes they did just as good as the SBH team and they have never done this kind of work before.

Shadow: "Good job to all of you. Your dismissed for now, I must go see Ozpin."

Blake stops Shadow for a second.

Blake: "What are you going to tell Ozpin?"

Shadow: "The intel we have found over the last few days."

Shadow then walks out of the room.

-3rd Person Shadow POV-

Shadow knocks on Ozpins door to see if he is busy and hears a faint, "Come in."

Shadow enters and sees Ozpin viewing a video on his Scroll which appears to be a video of something. He turns off the video and turns to Shadow.

Ozpin: "Hello Shadow, what brings you here?"

Shadow pulls out a small datapad and pulls up the intel for Ozpin to see.

Shadow: "We found out from machines tablet that all 9 Nova were transported here so that means instead of 1 left there is now 7. But, that doesnt mean we have to necessarily kill all of them."

Ozpin: "How so?"

Shadow: "Shash is the feet of the Nova squad, just like a human body, if you remove the feet, you're gonna need some wheels to keep it going."

Ozpin: "I see. Anything else?"

Shadow: "We figured out how to upgrade our armor and weapons so our armor can withstand dust ammo and our weapons can fire modified dust bullets so they do not degrade as fast as Shash's guns."

Ozpin: "Very well. Thank you for informing me on what has been happening. You're dismissed."

Shadow then walks out the office and down the hall.

As Shadow walked down the hall, he thought about the week. He had a nice dinner, kicked a bit of butt, and ended up with a lot of intel. 'Will it last? Or is this just a dream?'

Shadow couldn't decide. But he decided to ride it out and see how far the ship would sail.


	15. Chapter 15

Note: It's finally here! The first Tier III M rated chapter. This is going to be awkward for the first few chapters, so you're going to have to deal with it. You voted for it, suffer for your reward. :L Anyway! Enjoy! -Jared

Chapter 15

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

-WARNING, THIS SECTION CONTAINS LEMON BUILDUP, IF THIS OFFENDS YOU OR YOU DO NOT WANT TO READ THIS SORT OF THING, FILTER OVER TO THE SCENE CONTAINING BLAKE'S POINT OF VIEW. JUST A WARNING TO YOUNG OR "SAFE" VIEWERS.-

Walking back from Ozpin's office to his dorm, Shadow decided to take the long way back. Whilst walking through the courtyard, he saw Blake sitting on a stone bench reading a book. He could quickly catch a glimpse that the title was "Ninja's of Love." Intrigued, Shadow walked up to blake and asked, "whatcha reading?"

Blake seemed startled, not noticing Shadow. "It's uhh... a book for Professor Oobleck's class." Blushing, she quickly hid the book.

Shadow smirked, "riiiiight. Anyway, I'm heading back to my dorm to do some homework for the same Professor. Maybe your research could come in handy?" At which point Blake realized she had been caught. He wore an evil smirk because of this, which only caused Blake to snort, no longer hiding the book. She instead put her bookmark back in its place then stood up. Shadow held out his hand for her to grab, to which she obliged.

Blake: "Well don't just stand there with that stupid grin on your face, let's go get your work done! It's getting late..."

Shadow quickly snapped out of the gaze which he peered into empty space. "Oh! Right. Sorry... I just lost my train of thought for a second."

The two began to walk back to Shadow's dorm. Once there, Blake set up on the left side of Shadow's bed, reading her book whereas Shadow was working on his homework. Being stuck on a question, he naturally asked Blake for assistance.

Shadow: "Hey, Blake? What was the turning point of the human-faunus war?"

Blake looked over a bit pained that she had to put down her book, but agreed to help. "Well..." she leaned over to look at the problem on his paper, "many people believe that the battle for Fort Castle was the turning point of the war. This was due to General Lagune's... inexperience.. to realize that the Faunus have night vision. So when the good General decided to attack during the night, his entire army, which was much larger than that of the Faunus by the way, they were quickly defeated and the General was captured." Blake stopped looking at Shadow's paper to look at him. "Does that answer your question?"

Shadow was looking at his paper the entire time, quite interested in this piece of history. "Hey, thanks." He looked up from his paper to look Blake in the eyes, "that one really stumped me because I don't know much... abou-" Shadow out of nowhere boldly leaned in and kissed Blake, much to her surprise. It was a bit awkward at first, the two not really pressed against each other. After few moments, though, the two were quite into a makeout session. After about a minute right next to each other just kissing, the two parted lips. They finally opened their eyes and stared at each other for ten seconds at the least. After that, they went back to kissing, all-be-it more 'agressive' kissing this time. Blake was rubbing Shadow's shoulders and Shadow had a hand on Blake's cheek. Ten seconds into this kiss, Shadow let out his breath through his nose, 'falling' over sideways onto his bed, taking Blake with him. The two cuddling on the bed and making out. Blake accidentally bumped Shadow's forearm to move his hand from her face to her chest. She didn't seem to care or react to it so Shadow continued to kiss and even feel her chest a bit. Her breasts seemed very soft to him, a small wonder. Shadow also felt Blake feeling his upper body, the muscles which were toned from a lot of training on Freos. It wasn't a body builder's body, but it was the body of a man of action. Regardless, the two continued to be there, feeling each other and kissing 'agressively,' with tongue and a lot of breaths inbetween. Eventually Shadow felt brave and attempted to put his hand towards her pants. As soon as his hand got there, he could feel Blake squirm a bit, but stayed in the kiss. He put his hand inside of her pants and panties, which made her kiss him 'harder.' As Shadow found her vagina, he could feel Blake tense up, almost feeling as if she did not want to have him there. Shadow pulled his hand out and quickly apologised. "I'm sorry..."

Blake, like Shadow, was blushing profusely and was a little out of breath. She did however, find her voice. "Look... it's not you... it's me. I don't think I'm ready for that much comittment yet..."

Shadow pulled her in for a cuddly hug. "I understand."

Shadow felt disappointed that he couldn't go further than that, but felt that this wasn't the only time he would be in a situation like this.

Shadow laid down on his bed looking over his homework. Deeming it finished enough to where he could put it off until tomorrow, he did so. He placed it on his side table to see the clock say '12:58.' He yawned, put his hand behind his head and laid down on his bed. He closed his eyes to try to sleep. Just before he got to sleep, he felt Blake cuddle up next to him, which made him very happy. It was also awkward, though... however within time Shadow fell asleep.

-Blake 3rd Person Point of View-

Oobleck: "Going off of the Faunus war discussion from yesterday, who can tell me what is believed to be the major turning point in the war was? The answer was in your homework!"

Blake looked to see Shadow raise his hand.

Oobleck: "Shadow!"

Shadow: "It was the battle for Fort Castle."

Oobleck: "Correct! This was because the Faunus in the fort had very attuned eyes which could see in the dark without any effort. General Lagune's army was quickly..."

In Blake's head, she only heard up until that point and to her the Professor's voice trailed off. She was in deep thought about the night before with Shadow. She knew that at that point she wasn't ready to go that far in her relationship with Shadow just yet. 'He could be just like the others... I have to be sure, first.'

Oobleck: "Miss Belladonna, would you care to elaborate?"

Blake broke her stare into space to look at the Professor. "I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you the first time, Professor."

Oobleck: "I asked, how can the White Fang or the Faunus eventually come to terms with humanity? I think you are the most qualified for this question..."

Blake was urked by the question, but she answered anyway. "Uhh... well, Humanity would have to stop all descrimination. The Faunus have always been very tolerant of Humanity but... we... always treated them as lesser beings. Even today, most of the good faunus are looked down upon because of the actions of the White Fang. So I guess the faunus in the white fang would have to cease agression as well so that humanity can be coaxed into peace."

Oobleck: "Hm. I do believe you are right. Anyway! That handles this class." The bell rang at the end of Professor Oobleck's class at the same time he finishes, as usual. "I expect an explanation from everyone else on what they think humanity and the faunus can do to further a step towards peace. Class dismissed!"

Blake grabbed her things and walked out of the class only to be stopped by Yang.

Yang: "Hey, I have a favor to ask of you."

Blake: "...oh?"

Yang: "Here, I'd like to ask in private." She pulled Blake over to a secluded part of the hallway which nobody was walking past due to its darkness. Blake didn't really see a difference though, her cat-like eyes assisted her in that matter.

Blake: "So what do you need?"

Yang: "Well... I'm kind of curious about how 'far' my boyfriend is willing to go in our relationship. So... I was wondering if you can get Shadow out of his dorm for some time within the next couple of days."

Blake was confused and thought this was a joke. "You're kidding right?" Yang just looked at her with an evil smirk on her face. "Oh my Oum, you're not. Okay... I'll do something."

Yang: "Thanks!" Yang gave a bright smile and gave Blake a hug.

Blake: "Don't mention it..." Blake started to slowly walk away towards her next class with Professor Goodwitch.

Yang: "Are you okay, Blake?"

Blake: "Yeah... I just need to think about some things."

Yang: "Alright. Well, you can come to me anytime! Okay?"

Blake nodded and replied: "Okay..."

She then turned again to walk off towards Goodwitch's class.

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Goodwitch: "Today, class, we'll be learning about what you can really do. Most everyone here has something about them that nobody else can do. Miss Nikos has the ability to control the poles of metal or magnetic objects, this is known as her semblance. Most of you have learned what your semblances are from your combat schools before coming here. However for those who don't we will be expirimenting with you today. Everyone else, you are dismissed for the day."

Everyone said a cheer as they walked out of the main auditorium for Beacon to relax. The only remaining souls inside of the auditorium was team TJGJ, Shadow, some random guy wearing a green combat outfit and a mask of purple &amp; amber combined with a black full head mask and Goodwitch herself. Shadow was surprised that so many people could know about their semblances but remembered that he was a newbie to this world. Still, there was the mysterious green armored student next to him.

Goodwitch: "Only five? Thank goodness... Well, let's get started! GT and TJ, please come here. Are you familiar with your semblances?"

As the two walked up, GT responded: "Yeah. A bit. We've been practicing."

Goodwitch: "Well, please show me your progress."

GT and TJ nodded and proceeded to burst into their respective flames; GT into red and TJ into blue. Goodwitch nodded in approval.

Goodwitch: "The colors are different, have you noticed anything special about your respective semblances?"

Shadow turned and listened to TJ say: "when I slash at an object, it will usually decintegrate into ashes."

GT shook his head and added: "no, unforunately. I haven't had a whole lot of practice lately. I've been busy."

TJ nudged GT's ribs with an evil smirk and a wink, to which GT responded by punching TJ's shoulder and frowning. Shadow was intrigued to know what his team had been doing since they had last been in contact. They haven't talked much for the past couple of weeks...

Goodwitch: "Please save the hostilities for dueling, gentlemen. You may go, now. GT, please practice your semblance, I would like to know what you are capable of soon."

GT nodded and walked with TJ back to their dorm.

Goodwitch turned back to the remaining four students. "Next up, Jared. Please come up here."

Shadow shuffled his weight to his left, after standing on his right since the beginning of class. He crossed his arms, getting impatient. 'Come on... get it done, already!'

Goodwitch: "Do you have any idea how your semblance works?"

Jared: "A bit. I managed to get it down to a basic idea. If I hold my breath time slows down and I can move, but when I look at my arms and skin, it's pitch black. However, I have noticed recently that if I were to step five feet in front of me and turned around, I could see myself when I started holding my breath."

Goodwitch: "Darkness. Interesting. Demonstrate, please?"

Jared: "Of course." Shadow watched Jared's chest expand, and in an instant, Jared disappeared from the left side of the stage and appeared on the right. Goodwitch just turned around and wasn't that fazed to see Jared standing there. He was breathing a little heavy now, after getting to the other side.

Goodwitch: "You seem to be more fatigued when you use your semblance. If you must use it in combat, use it in moderation."

Jared: "Alright..."

Goodwitch: "Thank you for demonstrating, you may go. Shadow, you are next."

Shadow nodded to Jared who passed by him on his way out, whom nodded back in response. Shadow uncrossed his arms and stepped onto the stage.

Goodwitch: "Do you know what your semblance is or how it works?"

Shadow thought about it for a couple of minutes then said: "Not really..."

Goodwitch sighed and asked: "does anything happen when you get into a heated battle?"

Shadow: "Now that you mention it... black flames appear when I get angry."

Goodwitch: "Emotion... that's... new..."

Shadow: "It is?"

Goodwitch: "Nevermind that, do you know the feeling you get when your flames appear?"

Shadow: "Sort of...?"

Goodwitch: "Try to find your happy place and then call on that feeling."

Shadow: "This seems stupid..."

Goodwitch: "Just do it."

Shadow: "Alright, fine." Shadow began to think about him sitting with Blake on a hill watching a sunset. He immediately lost his concentration and instead started getting really shy and sheepish from remembering what happened the night before. Instead of thinking about Blake, he started to think about the moment the Admiral known as Sharp ceded herself &amp; the 125th from the Republic and he proposed a raid on her base. This made him extremely happy to think about putting a hole in Sharp's helmet, and started to feel the feeling when he emits the black flames. He concentrated on it and eventually felt a warm glow on him. He felt a slight burn on his cheek, and felt where he had accidentally cut himself that morning whilst shaving had healed.

Goodwitch: "This seems about normal. Try practicing with other emotions when you get a chance. Tomorrow I want a report on what you can do."

Shadow nodded and walked out, still feeling the shame from thinking about Blake. He needed to find a way to make it up to her. He walked out, only hearing a faint calling for the last kid, who's name was "And" something. He couldn't care less right then, though, he had to find Blake and ask what he could do to make it up to her. 'Dammit... I can and will fix this. Now where is she...?'

Shadow pulled out his scroll to find he already had a message from Blake. "Meet me at the courtyard once you are done with Goodwitch, I'd like to take a walk with you."

Shadow instantly responded that he was on his way and started walking there. He saw Jared back towards his dorm with a very questioning look. Shadow wondered what he could be worried about but knew that wasn't his perogative at that moment. He continued on towards Blake whom was waiting for him.

-End-

After Notes: This is just the first Tier III chapter we've released so far. The reason it took so long to put out is because we had to get used to the transition and think of what we could do with it. It will definitely ramp up in intensity VERY soon. There was just no need for a lot of swearing in this chapter just yet, nor to have Blake (being the reserved person she is) go and do it with Shadow on the spot. It may never happen for all you know! Anyway, thanks for reading. See you next chapter! -Jared 


	16. Chapter 16

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	17. Chapter 17

(Chapter 17 is here! Please leave a favorite, or a review would help us greatly. Thank you to all of those who have support the story so far it means a lot to us. Anyways Enjoy this chapter!) (Chapter 18 should be here soon! Stay Alert!)

-Blake 3rd person POV-

Blake was pacing impatiently in the Beacon courtyard. She was waiting for the arrival of Shadow, of whom she was tasked to preoccupy while Yang was... "testing" Jared. She cringed at that thought, sending goosebumps down her arms and back. As she finished sweeping that thought off of her mental plate, a familliar, quizzical face turned the corner.

Shadow: "Hey, what's up? Is something wrong?"

Blake: "What? I mean... no! Nothing's wrong, I just wanted to see if you wanted to go out tonight. I have nothing to do and I was hoping to learn a little more about you."

From her standpoint Shadow was in deep thought. 'Ah crap, I think he suspects me...' Blake thinks as Shadow lets out a long sigh and says "Alright... let's see... where do you want to go tonight?"

Blake: "Ah... how about just a seat at the cliffs overlooking Vale?"

Shadow shrugged, agreed and turned to walk off towards the destination. Once there, the two sat down and cuddled up close next to each other. For five minutes, they sat, silently. Finally, Blake managed the courage to ask a personal question to Shadow.

Blake: "So how exactly did Shash and his Nova harass you?"

Shadow was taken aback by the question and emitted a small black steam. He quickly stemmed his anger and began to search for an answer. "They... insulted me as a person... as a soldier... and as a leader. That's really all you need to know, it won't do you any better to know more..."

Blake was quite annoyed with Shadow's keeping of secrets. Because of this, she snapped: "look, if you want me to have a trusting and good relationship with you, I don't want you to be holding any secrets from me! If we keep on a relationship as it is, I can't trust you at all!" She noticed how tightly she gripped Shadow's hand and loosened it a tad, but still keeping just enough strength to encourage Shadow further.

Shadow sighed and began: "It started when I became a Captain. Captain is considered the first major officer rank you get in the Republic's Military. There were small bits of criticism here and there but the big... issues... didn't start until I was promoted to Commander. They started criticising me due to the fact I was chosen over a more favorable officer at the time by the Supreme Commander himself. Once the criticism started, few came to my aid to support me, and those who did were, in terms of a domino effect, also criticized. As the social war with Nova raged on, it came to a head one day when a good friend of theirs released something of Jared's, which was quite... sensitive. Once it was out, he was mocked and I attempted to defend him by suspending Shash and those who insulted him. As this was happening, General Mack decided to walk in at that time in the middle of the argument. He walked over to the drinks, picked up a cup, took a sip and turned around. He told me that Jared and I would be suspended until further notice and that Nova would be repromoted to their original ranks until the issue was resolved. It left both Jared and I compeltely _flabbergasted._By taking careful steps and waiting patiently, the issue was resolved and everyone was repromoted to their ranks, besides that of some Nova who were unquestionably at fault. This set them off but left us satisfied. Three days later, we were sent on the operation to recover the artifact which sent us here... and me to you. So... is there anything in particular you would like me to elaborate on or are you content with what you have just learned?"

Blake pondered the suggestion but went against it: "I'm... good on your past for now. I may come back to it later if there are any serious issues."

"Good... beautiful sunset, isn't it?" Blake watched as Shadow turned and looked from the scenery into Blake's eyes, which had already turned towards his. They slowly leaned in but they were cut off by a loud roar in the air. The two looked up to see a Bullhead dropship above them. The side of the drop ship had a painted red wolf with a triple claw going right through it.

Blake: "It's the White Fang!"

Shadow: "Thanks for the heads up..."

Blake: "Quit being sarcastic, we're in trouble!" The two watched the door open to the bullhead and see a red-haired faunus with horns standing inside. "Oh no... Adam..." She hid behind Shadow who stood in front of her, sword at the ready.

Shadow moved towards the drop ship which landed with 6 White Fang minions standing there alongside. Shadow clenched his fists and held a stern face.

-Shadow 3rd person POV-

Shadow: 'Remember, non-lethal combat only. Hand to hand combat will have to do...'

Shadow watched as the red-haired faunus exited the Bullhead and started toward him.

Adam: "Give her here and we will leave without causing an issue"

Shadow then remembered to try to use other emotions for his semblance so he started thinking of him and Blake together and the future ahead of them. He felt himself getting warm knowing his flames were now emerging. He then responded to the Adam.

Shadow: "Leave her alone, she just didn't want to be part of your violent war anymore. Let her be."

Adam: "She is a traitor to her own kind!"

Shadow: "No, you are a traitor to your own kind."

This caused Adam to get angry gh to tell his men to attack Shadow and capture Blake who was hiding in a secluded spot. All six Faunus ran for Shadow weapons drawn.

Shadow took the closest faunus and hit him in the face, breaking his nose and causing him to fall over unconscious from the blow. Two fell out from the formation and ran towards Shadow, only to be knocked on their asses from him sweeping his foot under their legs. This allowed Shadow to take the fourth faunus to bull-rush him and kick in both of his knee caps, causing him to howl in pain and double over unconscious from the intense pain. The first pair of faunus, now recovered from their first round, got up and attempted round two. Sadly, their efforts were in vain as Shadow took them by the crowns of their heads and saw to a union of foreheads. The relationship was intimate; the two fell to the floor, unconscious and with a headache worthy of any cantina drinker. The last two conscious soldiers raised their guns to fire, but before they could, Blake pounced onto the battlefield and round-house kicked the one to Shadow's left, incapacitating him and distracting the other. Shadow used this to run up to the faunus and give him a freight-train of a punch in the cheek, making the scruffy faunus fly into a tree and damn-near killing him. He quickly recovered from the adrenaline surge and turned to the only other standing faunus.

Adam: "You're all pathetic excuses for soldiers!" He then raised the hilt of his sword to which Shadow was confused about then he saw a trigger near his hand and saw him pull it. He quickly dodged and used the mercenary's slow reflexes to clothesline him in the Adam's apple. Adam gripped his throat, unable to react to the pain and ran inside the drop ship as it started to lift off. As the dropship turned away, a small stream of vomit came from the passenger side of the Bullhead. Shadow took a deep breath and felt his anger fade away. Then Shadow slowly turned to Blake.

Shadow: "Are you ok?"

Blake: "Yes, I was just a bit shocked that he would come back for me. Anyways thank you for not killing them. It lessens the impact of this faunus versus humanity issue..."

Shadow: "I hope so. Now we should probably start heading ba-"

Shadow was about to say more but then he heard a faint thud from behind him and he saw Blake's expression change to shock. He turned around for something he was not expecting.

Adam was lying right behind them with a slit throat, in the final stages of bleeding out. Shadow from what he saw noticed none of the soldiers with Adam had a blade of that type to cut his neck with.

'I wonder who would have access to such a we...'

His thoughts were cut off by a explosion and he looked up to see the drop ship going down in flames and crashing in the courtyard. A small crowd of students started to show up and one of them ran towards him while telling the students to calm down. Shadow knew it must be Titus because Jared said that he would be busy with homework and that GT and TJ had strict curfews to which they went to sleep at.

Titus: "Reporting to help sir!"

Shadow responded by telling Titus to check for survivors and Titus ran off. Shadow then went back to Blake who was looking at Adam.

Shadow: "I'm sorry for what happened to him... even though you and him weren't on the... best of terms."

Blake: "Thank you." She somberly closed the gap and hugged Shadow.

This moment was short lived due to the fact Ruby and Weiss came running towards them in frantic motions.

Ruby: " We heard the explosion and we were worried so we came running!" and ruby then started to talk so fast that Shadow had trouble keeping up with what she was saying. Weiss, after a new personal record of a minute, finally told her to quit being a dolt and shut her up quickly.

Shadow was about to say more, but then he heard a awful sound of armor breaking and a loud manly scream. His eyes widened upon turning around. Titus moved his hand to his pierced breast to see blood and a vibrosword constantly attempting to remove more of his flesh. Titus nodded and muttered something to which no one could hear, but one saw. Shash removed his sword from Titus's spine and made a horizontal slash at his neck, severing his head from his torso. Shadow could feel all emotions in him drain away except for one, vengeance. He charged Shash with a mighty battle cry and took the first swing with his dark sword, to which Shash blocked with an evil grin. The two stalemated, sword to sword, for five seconds then quickly broke apart to prepare for the next encounter. Shadow could not think clearly and his vision was very narrow, so he did not notice Shash dashing towards him until it was a tad too late. He attempted to dodge Shash's kick, but once he ducked, it was all Shash needed to connect his foot with Shadow's helmet. This disarmed Shadow and turn him for just long enough for Shash to (luckily) only land a vibroknife slash on his left breastplate. After being hit, Shadow felt himself growing angrier and hotter. He picked up his sword off of the ground and turned to Shash who stood there with his weapons ready, making a mocking motion at Shadow with his hand. Shadow put his sword on the sheath on his back and ran towards Shash unarmed. He purposely threw a punch at the air next to Shash's right cheek and followed up by spinning to his left and elbowing Shash (who attempted to dodge an already missed punch to the left) right in the helmet. Shadow continuing with the momentum connected another hit when he upper cut him in the jaw. As Shash's helmet flew off and he fell over from the force from the upwards hit, his face changed to a snarl. Shadow knew the tide of the battle had turned and grabbed his DC17M from his hip. As he took aim at Shash, he saw the Nova realize what he was about to do and Shash ran off towards his teammates, with a small hand signal. Shadow opened fire and missed. He cursed then noticed two Nova charging him. Not caring about them, he thoughtlessly put three bolts in the chest of one and a headshot on the other. As they fell over dead, he adjusted his aim back towards Shash, only to realize too late that Shash had taken his aim with a sniper. Two shots rang out from the barrel of said blaster and hit Shadow in the shoulder and in the knee. He whimpered from pain and cursed Shash for playing dirty. As he hit the ground, clutching his arm and stumbling trying to stand back up, Shash had walked towards him. Shash dropped his sniper rifle and instead unsheathed his vibrosword. As he raised his sword to make the final blow, Shadow closed his eyes and felt his life flash before his eyes. From growing up in a cloning tube, from the flash learning, the training in the sim rooms, the battlefields he's crossed and fought on, the secret ops he's played a part in, the screwed up operation which sent him to this strange world and finally, an image of him and Blake walking on the pier at sunset from a couple of nights before. His only regret was that he wouldn't have time to say goodbye.

*BLAK, BLAK*

He reopened his eyes to see Shash drop his sword and look around confusedly. As another shot barely missed his head, he turned an ran back towards the gunship which held the remaining living Nova. As soon as he was aboard, the gunship took off and blasted towards some unknown location. Shadow roared at the top of his lungs as he watched Shash escape once again. Once he cooled off, he sulked over to Titus's body. As he felt his eyes start to burn and his stomach start to clench from the horrible sight of his fallen comrade, Shadow fell to his knees, looking at the decapitated, blank stare of Titus's face. Team RWBY and GT &amp; TJ (who decided to show up a bit late) finally worked up the nerve to walk over and look at the aftermath. Yang and Jared, sprinting with an odd limp, finally showed up looking a bit flustered.

Yang: "Whoa, what happ-... oh. Oh... well, this is awkward."

Shadow, with a dark shadow on his face, muttered: "Thanks for the help back there..." The response seemed to surprise everyone else, likely from the hoarse and grim tone he was speaking in. He then picked up Titus's body and took him towards a hill 50 meters from the battlefield. Once Shadow had gone back and retrieved the dismembered head of Titus, they placed him as best they could inside of the makeshift grave, as if he never taken that fatal swing. Shadow watched the grave fill with dirt as GT and TJ shoveled it in and felt his eyes start to tear up. To prevent everyone else from seeing him this way, he put on his helmet and started to walk back towards the battlefield with a cold feeling surrounding his body. 'Damn Shash...!'

-Jared 3rd person POV-

Jared and Yang looked over the grave of Titus as their teammates and friends walked back to their dorms for some rest. As they looked, Yang's focus was on Jared, but something kept drawing her eye over Shadow.

"I realize that I should probably feel... pained... by this, however I've seen this sight too many times for my own good before..."

Yang: "I... don't think I can say the same, honestly."

Jared: "Oh trust me, I don't expect you to. It's just... I hope he gets to a better place, but I know that we can just clone another up in 7 years time..."

Yang: "Wait... Jared?"

Jared: "Yeah?"

Yang: "Two things; why is Shadow glowing blue, and who fired the sniper that we heard?"

Jared: "Well, since his semblance is based on emotion, I wouldn't find it hard to believe that he is depressed because he is... well... emotionally unstable, thanks to the crack in his cloning tube. As for the shots... your guess is as good as mine. They were in pretty rapid succession, minus the third. I really only know two people that can fire like that, but only one with good enough reason to be here... ain't that right, Major?"

A somewhat deep voice drew out: "...fuck."


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

"...fuck."

Jared saw Yang frantically looking around for the source of the voice from the corner of his eye. Jared looked at Yang whom looked at him, the gap between them being about three feet. Jared turned his head the other way, still wondering where that classy man was! He heard a short startled report from Yang and turned his head to see that the space between them was now taken up by a white armored clone with extra armor and a double pauldron. The visor on his helmet reflected the sun's light on a nearby tree. His crossed arms and shaking side-to-side, ground-facing helmet shows his obvious dismay to being caught.

The new clone released a heavy sigh and said: "Well'p... I guess I can always count on you to ruin the fun, eh, Jay?"

Jared grinned and replied: "Of course. What would you to without me, Des? You classy son of a-"

Des: "Hey! Hey hey! There's a lady here, and your lady nonetheless! You should have a bit more self restraint there, old chap!"

Yang made a frown and interjected: "I'm not that much of a milk-drinker...!"

Des: "Are you sure...?" Des said with a smug tone.

Jared, red from embarrassment did two things. He first punched Des in the shoulder, to which Des just scoffed at. He second replied: "Not cool... not cool at all, man! Besides, how would you know such things?!"

Des, now laughing, responded: "Very vividly, and very carefully. There's quite a lot you can see through a sniper scope... you of all people should know this."

Jared raised his hand, as if to respond, but decided against it, knowing that it would only bring more arguments and possibly a brawl.

Des then turned to Yang and introduced himself. "My name is Designer. However, you, may call me Des." He extended his hand towards her, as a gesture of greeting, to which Yang took and shook quickly.

"It's Yang. Yang Xiao Long."

They then separated hands and Des leaned over to Jared to whisper: "Yeah, I can totally see why she's your type." Jared again, punches Des in the shoulder.

Des then looked around and said: "Anyways, it's been great, but I have a tight schedule to keep... so cya later..."

Des, giving no time for the couple to think, disappears from sight and only leaves behind the memory of his arrival. Jared turned to Yang, whom looked very confused. He returned the expression, not knowing where Des could have gone. 'Meh, he'll be back.' Jared then tugged at Yang's shoulder to peacefully walk her back to Beacon during the late evening hours.

-Blake 3rd Person POV-

Blake woke up without the warmth of Shadow's embrace that morning. She looked around team RWBY's dorm as everyone still slept. The light-headed faunus took out her Scroll to see the time; "9:30 A.M." A grumble escaped her mouth as she rolled her hand to the side and looked up at Yang's bed. 'Hold on a second... there's no indentation indicating where Yang is sleeping... if she is... which means...!" She quickly glared at the Scroll again to see the day; "Monday." '...Oh crap...!' In a flurry, she rushed out of bed, grabbed her garments and haphazardly wore them on her form, adjusting it as she rushed around the dorm, preparing herself. Blake brushed her hair, placed her bow upon her head and tied it, did her makeup and finally fixed her exquisite clothes, now worn properly. She blasted out of the dormitory and ran towards Professor Port's Grimm class. As she ran, she took a leftover sweet roll from the mess hall and ate it along the way. Upon nearly reaching the class, she finished the sugar-coated bun and composed herself.

She knocked on the closed door to see an entire class staring at her, wondering at how she was late. Professor Port even turned from his famous self-entitled speeches about how great he is to look at the interruption.

Prof. Port: "I am unsurprised due to what happened last night; however your teammates should have at least roused you." On that note, he turned to look at team RWBY, sitting in front. Ruby had a stern expression on her face, noting her position on this situation. Weiss, being her, scoffed at the comment. Lastly, Yang just lollygagged in her place, as usual.

Blake responded by simply bowing her head and replying: "Yes sir. Thank you for the excuse of punishment, but please, next time give me no excuse. It was my fault I was not awake on time." She stood straight up again and gave no time for response as she walked to her seat and sat down.

Prof. Port: "Hum... as I was saying... the beast was no match for my sheer cunning and..." Port's voice trailed out as Blake was heavy in thought about the night before. She had gone to Shadow's dorm to try and take refuge there for the night. However once her knuckles rapped on the door, Shadow denied her entry and requested some personal space for a couple of days. She wanted to confront him about it with every fiber of her being, so she turned around for a split second and scanned the classroom with her cat-like eyes. From as much as she saw, she saw very little of Shadow... none, in fact. She turned her head back around and placed it on her forearms as she gazed at the ground, thoughts heavy upon the topic of Shadow.

-THREE DAYS LATER-

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

Jared was walking down the hall back towards his dorm after a long day of schoolwork and shenanigans. He put his hands behind his head and let out a sigh as he walked. 'What a long and tiring day... I really don't need anything... dammit...!' Jared cursed as he saw Blake running over

Blake stops abruptly in front of him and gave him no time to greet her; "Have you seen Shadow, Jared?"

Jared: "Unfortunately and fortunately, no."

Blake looked down, with a very somber look on her face.

'No...' Jared thought.

"Well..." Blake asked.

'Don't do it...' Jared hoped.

"I was hoping that you could... you know..."

'Oh for f-' Jared stopped the thought abruptly to start thinking of replies.

"...could you help me try to contact Shadow?"

Jared let out a long sigh; "Unh... alright. Sure. Why not... let's go try to find him. But before we go, a small joke?"

Blake looked him in the eyes and nodded slowly.

Jared: "I guess you could say Shadow is... a _shadow_ of his former self...?"

Blake's eyes flared with anger but it quickly vanished as she turned towards Shadow's dorm and said: "Let's go..."

Jared: "...was it something I said?"

The walk to Shadow's dorm was quick and wordless. Jared thought he saw the gleam of a tear on her cheek.

As Jared caught up to Blake, whom was already at the door, he heard her knock and attempt to open the door. He heard a silent curse as she felt the door still as rigid as before they arrived.

Blake: "It won't budge..."

Jared immediately thought, 'That's what she said...' but quickly suppressed the urge to say it. He instead chose the words; "I have an idea..." He approached the door and banged loudly. "Hey! Get out of there you coward! The time to fight will soon be upon us and you would sit in a room and hide like a shadow in a dark room!" Jared heard only a groan from the inside. He did however, hear a small chuckle from the outside... behind him. He turned around to see a white clad clone; Des.

"Alright! Shadow, we're going to do this the easy way, or my way," Des exclaimed. "Which do you prefer?" Again, just a groan from the inside. Des shrugged and brought his right knee to his chest, then thrusted it forward with as much force as possible to kick down the door. The maneuver succeeded, as the door fell off of its hinges. Jared, although startled by the straightforwardness, was not surprised by Des coming down to this method of entry. He did see, however, Blake was clearly shocked by the brusque tact of Designer's entry. Jared, although through dust, sees the silhouette of a man surrounded by a blue glow. The man finally made it through the cloud to the entryway to his abode.

"_What_ do _you_ want, Jar-... Des?" Many traces of anger dissipated from Shadow's face as he gazed at the striking appearance of the white clone with the scratches on his armor.

Des: "Look, you need to come out of your shell. Seriously. Right now, you look like some sort of old hermit, wallowing in your own sorrow for not living life. You got a lot of it ahead of you, so why don't you just suck it up!"

Jared saw the flash of anger in Shadow's eyes and noticed the fist forming in his hand. He already knew what would happen... he also knew that Des saw as well.

Thud. The fist strikes the cheekplate of the helmet as Designer's head turns. After the strike subsided and Shadow started to breathe a little harder from letting out that much steam, Des turned his head back.

Des: "Good start, but you're going to have to try a little more in your head, Shadow." Des pointed with his finger at Shadow's head. "But just remember, if you ever do that again without taking heed of your actions, it will not be me taking the punch." Des turned then and strolled off down the halls, cloaking once halfway down the nearest hallway.

Jared turned his head back towards Shadow, able to see only a pair of fists and a very angered but saddened face. Jared felt Blake brush past him and give Shadow's arm a tight embrace. "Please... don't just seal yourself away. You have teammates. I've been to that place of focusing on one emotion, you don't have to just... lock yourself up like a guilty man in a cell when it never was your fault... it was the fault of the Nova and that bastard Shash! Please... just... talk to me..."

Shadow: "..."

Jared sighed and turned around, thinking that Shadow would respond with his usual "no." He was very surprised to hear a faint "...meet me tonight... we'll speak then," from behind him. He smiled and continued walking back to his dorm. He put both hands behind his head and sighed as he walked.

'Finally, maybe I can go catch up on some shuteye... unless there are any more surprises.' And Jared found none as he walked back to his dorm, finding his teammates in bed and him alongside them soon enough.

End of 18.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

**The next day**

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

Jared was hanging out at team TJGJ's dorm with his squad mates, minus Titus. They felt bad for their fallen brother, but they were soldiers, they were used to it. It was just a shame that he was the newest member. Shadow had also seen as much loss at the others, maybe even more, but he didn't exactly react as he usually would. This bothered Jared. Yes, his CO wasn't exactly his biggest concern this morning but Shadow seemed to be isolating himself.

"Hey Jared!" A call from GT shook Jared out of his train of thought. "We are playing a board game. Would you like to join?"

Jared stretched for a few seconds, and then responded with "All right."

He moved over and kneeled next to the table GT and TJ were playing on. _Shadow will be fine._ He thought. _Blake is going to talk to him. If anyone can get through to him, it's Blake._ Jared shrugged of the thought of Shadow then went along with the board game.

-Blake 3rd Person POV-

"So what do you think?"

Ruby had a plan to take the team out for the night. She wanted to relieve the tension that had been building up in the past few days. The gang was silent.

"Come on guys. We don't really do stuff together anymore. What happened to us?"

"Nothing." Yang replied.

"No, not nothing," Weiss interjected. "Ruby is right. We haven't exactly hung out together in a while."

"We don't really have the time. Shadow's team needs us."

"You mean Jared needs you." Weiss teased.

"I beg your pardon?" Yang defended.

"You know Yang," Weiss pulled out her mockery tone. "There is a rumor between you and Jared."

"W-what?" Yang stammered.

"You two, alone, one room."

Yang went bright red.

"What rumor?" Ruby asked unsuspecting the reference Weiss was making.

"Nothing!" Yang was blushing more than she ever has before.

"Nothing?" Weiss grinned.

Blake was quiet during the whole conversation. She looked outside. Dark. It was time.

"I'm going to go somewhere okay?" Blake finally spoke.

"What?!" Ruby exclaimed. "But-"

"I'll be back soon."

"Blake wait-"

"Bye." Blake ended the conversation as she quickly exited the room.

She walked briskly to Shadow's dorm. Shadow was is a bad state, and she didn't want him to face his problems alone. She finally reached Shadow's dorm.

"Shadow?" Blake knocked. "It's Blake, I'm here."

There was no response.

"Shadow?" Blake tried again. She attempted to turn the handle but it was locked.

"Shadow!" She called and started banging on the door.

After a few more tried, she gave up. She took a few steps back and reached for her sword. In one swift motion, she sliced the lock and kicked open the door.

"Shadow!" She called. But there was no one there.

The place was a mess. Not a messy mess, but a torn up mess. Like the place had been ransacked. There had been struggle, and Shadow was missing. Blake quickly searched the area. _No, no, no. Where are you?_ All of a sudden, she accidentally kicked an object. She froze. Her Faunus eyes scanned the ground for the object. She didn't need to turn on the lights. Then she saw it. She picked it up. _A camera?_ She turned it over and saw the White Fang insignia on it. _Oh no._

In a flash, she ran straight back to team RWBY's dorm.

"Guys! Shadow's missing!" She exclaimed.

The others quickly jumped to attention.

"What?" Ruby asked.

"I went to go see Shadow, but his dorm had been wrecked and I found this camera."

"Maybe he just went for a walk." Yang positively suggested.

"Yeah," Weiss scoffed. "Because he wrecked his dorm room, had a camera with a white fang insignia, then went for a walk."

Yang shrugged.

"Let's review the footage." Ruby ordered.

Blake plugged the camera into their computer and played the footage. It started off with a first person view of a man wearing red armor. He was clinging to the wall outside next to the window. He peeked through the window into Shadow's dorm. He was just sitting there, relaxed and in his leisure clothing. Then he went up and turned towards the window. The man with camera quickly hid himself. Shadow walked towards the window and opened it. Just as he poked his head out, another man wearing red armor was clinging above the window. He swung down and kicked Shadow square to the face. It was Shash.

The cameraman chuckled, revealing the voice of a Nova. He swung over into the room and placed the camera on a table. Shadow rubbed his head and was getting up. Shash was laughing in mockery.

"What? No hug?" Shash cackled.

Shadow growled and attempted to attack Shash but Shash was quicker. He connected his fist with Shadow's throat. Shadow grasped his neck and sunk to his knees. His struggle to breath was easily noticeable by his ragged breath and wheezing.

"You think I'm gonna let you touch me you little shit? Well you are wrong as hell."

Fire started to surround the dorm.

"Shash, I think the guy is getting angry." The Nova said.

"So? You scared son?"

"No but-"

"Then there is no reason to panic because someone can make a small itsy bitsy little-"

Shash was cut off by Shadow. A part of the flame concentrated and dove into Shadow's fist and he threw a punch to Shash's cheek. The punch knocked his helmet off and stunned him for a few seconds. The other Nova quickly downed Shadow with a kick to his back.

Shash felt his jaw. "You motherfucker."

Shadow was still breathing raggedly and was on all fours, attempting to look up.

"See how this feels!" Shash barked as he reached for his side arm and shot Shadow in the chest.

The force of the shot knocked Shadow backwards onto his back. It was one of Shash's dust rounds. He was lucky to be alive, but his Aura was obviously down. Shadow couldn't escape. The Nova and Shash were blocking the exits. The two were laughing evilly.

"You lucky piece of crap!" Shash chuckled.

Shadow managed to sit upright.

"Well, this was fun while it lasted," Shash twirled the gun in his hands. "But all good things come to an end." Shash stopped and shot Shadow in the lower gut.

The bolt tore through him, even slamming him onto his back. His airway was still too damaged for him to scream, so all he did was whimper and squeal. Shash laughed and picked him up by the hair and dragged him towards the camera.

"Shadow's bitch!" He called out to the camera. "I know you will be watching this soon or later. And if you want me to release him, then go fuck yourself. Just know, that he will never see the light of day again!"

The recording ended with Shash batting away the camera onto the floor. Blake held her hand to her mouth and started to tear up.

After a few moments of silence, Ruby said "Blake… I'm sorry…"

Blake slowly started backing away from the screen and her eyes filled with water. "Damn it!" She yelled and slammed the desk with full force. Then she sprinted out of the room.

She barely caught Ruby call "Blake wait!"

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Shadow woke up with a rush of cold water to the face. His leisure clothes were torn up and he was chained to the ceiling in a dark room. His gut still ached with fire from the dust round, but he could finally breathe properly. He wondered why his aura hadn't healed the wound yet.

"Mornin'," The cold voice of Shash echoed around the room.

Shadow quickly shot straight up realizing what had happened. He had been captured. He reached up and felt the chains.

"I wouldn't try that," Shash said noticing Shadow's hand attempting to melt the chains with his fire. "Special chains I found. They suppress your semblance and aura. They can also withstand temperatures up to 1000F."

Shadow growled and spat at him.

"You know," Shash wiped the saliva off his armor. "I could kill you right now, no aura to save you," He aimed his DC-17B at Shadow's head.

"Go ahead. I don't care." Shadow bit his lip.

"Are you sure?"

Shadow went silent. In response Shash pushed the cold barrel to his forehead. They both stared each other down. Suddenly Shash pulled the trigger. Shadow flinched back a bit. He was still alive. The gun was empty.

"Heh, not yet." Shash laughed as he put a magazine into the unloaded side arm and slipped it into his holster.

Shadow just stared at the ground.

"What, you still mad at me for your teammate's mishap?"

Shadow growled and rattled the chains.

"What can I say, an eye for an eye. You and your pals killed two of my men. One of them was my most trusted officer."

"Yeah, bb?" Shadow chuckled.

Shash punched his wound, hard. Shadow screamed in pain.

"Don't, interrupt me," Shash grabbed Shadow by the hair. "My point is that I want an eye for an eye. You kill my trusted officer, I kill yours."

Shadow knew whom he was talking about. Shash wanted to kill Jared.

"Do what ever you want to me!" Shadow yelled. "Leave my friends alone!"

"No." Shash said simply.

"You want to kill me? Fine! Kill me then!"

"Oh but I am going to kill you Shadow," Shash grabbed him by the neck. "Only slower than you'd like."

Shash released him and punched Shadow in the face, leaving a black eye. Shadow struggled to find Shash. As Shash left the room, he called "Sweet dreams! And pray that I let your bitch live."

Shadow struggled, but it was no use. All he could do is hang there, alone, and helpless.

**Hey guys. As you may or may not notice, someone else wrote this chapter. I hope to pick up the story and keep it going. And I also thank Frogy for giving me the chance to write this. To see more of my work, you can search me up on the site. Till next time! **

–**Testedomega17**

Frogy here as said above I found a friend that wanted to pick up this story. He will be writing most of the chapters from now on so stay tuned y'all .


	20. Chapter 20

**Hey guys. Just because we are hitting number 20, which is quite an accomplishment, this chapter is extra long. By the way, what did you guys think about the book cover? And what do you think of the story so far? Let us know in the reviews. –Testedomega17 and Frogy**

-Blake 3rd Person POV-

Blake was sitting by the fountain at the front of the academy. Her face was in her hands and she was sobbing silently. Shadow had been captured. And she was alone. She wanted to cry her heart out, but didn't want to make a scene. How was she supposed to tell Jared? They had just lost Titus. The friendly voice of Ruby broke her train of thought.

"Blake?" she asked, "Are you all right?"

Blake only sniffled.

"Blake I'm sorry."

"About what?" Blake responded softly. "You didn't do anything."

"I know." Ruby sat beside Blake. "But I'm here for you nonetheless."

"We're here for you." Yang and Weiss appeared.

"It's just that he is alone, and he just lost someone," Blake started. "And what do we tell his teammates?"

Ruby looked at Blake in sorrow. Then she looked at Yang and Weiss. They made the look.

"We don't tell his teammates anything." Ruby replied.

"What?"

"Team TJGJ has enough to deal with without Shadow's disappearance. If Shadow means that much to you, we can go looking for him."

"Really?" Blake was shocked at Ruby's decision.

"Well, we need to start doing things as a team anyway." Ruby winked.

"We don't even need to mention Shadow's disappearance to Jared." Weiss brought up.

"And for us, we can just say that we are having a girl's week or something." Yang piped in.

"We'll find him Blake." Ruby patted her shoulder.

Blake went silent for a few moments, and then hugged Ruby.

"Thanks Ruby." Ruby was obviously uncomfortable with the hug, but went along with it anyway.

"No problem," Ruby replied. "Now let's get some sleep. We'll begin our search in the morning."

Blake nodded and the team went back to their dorm.

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Shadow woke up in the morning, or so it looked like. There were small windows near the ceilings of the room. Other than the one little storm light, they were the only things keeping the room from darkness. He was still chained to the ceiling standing up. His sleep had been very uncomfortable due to his inability to lie or sit down. The door opened and one of Shash's Nova troopers emerged.

"Rise and shine, its breakfast time." The Nova smirked.

"I didn't realize Shash's men had the ability to rhyme." Shadow chuckled.

"You want to eat mate?" The Nova asked.

This Nova was rather different than others. He donned a British accent and seemed to have a bit of a polite tone to his voice. Not that it mattered when he was dissing Shadow. The Nova approached him with a protein bar.

"Eat up," He said. "Be warned that this is the only meal you will be getting today."

Shadow nodded and the Nova started mouth feeding him.

"I'd prefer if I could actually eat with my hands." Shadow remarked.

"Well I don't bloody care. Shash has warned me about your likeliness to slip the leash."

"What's your name, Nova?"

The Nova didn't answer so Shadow squinted his chest plate to try any make out anything. There he saw on the lower part right above where his abdominals would be. "_Kill"_.

"As you may or may not know, I'll be your watcher." The Nova, or now known as 'Kill' stated as Shadow finished his meal. "I don't recommend trying to escape," Kill pointed at the corner of the room. "I'm watching you."

Shadow looked into the corner and saw a security camera. _Damn._

"Don't get any funny ideas Commander." Kill said as he exited the room.

Shadow just hung there, plotting his escape. He had to get out. He had to save Jared. He had to stop Shash.

He had to.

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

Jared woke up to a nice morning. He felt well rested and felt like today was a good day. He quickly glanced at his scroll. _A long weekend._ He got up and stretched then was about to play a prank on Titus but then paused when he looked at his bed. _Empty._ Titus was gone. He looked at the beds of TJ and GT. The two were still fast asleep. _Well, if my teammates are asleep, might as well talk to Yang._

Jared quickly refreshed himself and took a quick shower, military style. He couldn't help it. He had done it so many times that it was just instinct. He was about to get into his leisure clothes but then paused. Considering the amount of attacks recently, he wanted to be prepared, although, he didn't want to be in full armor. So he came to a compromise. He managed to wear his leisure clothes and strap parts of his armor on. He put on the shin plates and the boots, the forearm plates and his combat belt. He left his DC-17M with the rest of his armor and strapped his twin Katanas to his back. Then he silently left the room.

Jared turned one corridor after the other until he reached team RWBY's dorm. He took a deep breath of excitement and knocked on the door. Weiss answered the door. Her cold but crystal blue eyes scanned Jared.

Jared smiled and greeted with, "Good morning Weiss."

"What do you want?" She asked impatiently.

"Is Yang here?"

"Yep!" Yang emerged through the door. "Whaddya what?"

"Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out or something."

Yang looked at Jared uneasy. "Uhh, sorry Jared. The team wants to have some time alone." she stated.

"Oh," Jared replied. "Later then?"

"Umm, not anytime soon."

"What?"

"Look Jared," she began to explain. "We have spent a lot of time together recently, and I have loved it,"

"Especially recently!" Jared heard Weiss pipe in from the room.

Yang made a glare at her then continued. "The point is, we think our team needs some more bonding time as a team."

"Oh…" Jared was let down.

Yang attempted to cheer him up. "Hey, maybe you should do the same."

Jared looked up.

"You should get your team together and, I don't know, have fun?"

Jared pondered Yang's idea. After a few moments, he responded with, "All right. Sounds like a plan."

"I'm glad you understand."

"See ya Yang."

"See ya Jared." Yang quickly pecked Jared on the cheek the receded into the dorm.

Jared began to walk back to his teammates. _We can have fun I guess. It'll relieve a bit of tension between us, _he thought. _I wonder if Shadow can join us._ He paused. _Nah, he is part of RWBY's team. _Jared continued his path back to his dorm.

-Yang 3rd Person POV-

Yang was sorry that she had turned down Jared, but she had to be there for Blake.

"Sorry to pull you away from him like that," Blake said. "I'm not trying to make you feel my pain."

"Nah it's fine Blake. I'm gonna be here for you." Yang replied.

"We are all here for you," Ruby added. "So let's begin the search. Blake and Yang, you two check the Shady side of town, ask your, 'friend' if he has any Intel." Yang nodded. "Me and Weiss will check the abandoned warehouses on the east side of Vale."

"How will you guys know which warehouses to look for?" Yang asked. "There's got to be about 100."

"Well, Shadow's team isn't the only ones who can be sneaky. I have some of their Intel they got from the Nova Machine. We'll check some of the locations and see if Shadow is being kept there."

"All right sounds like a plan." Blake stated.

"Good luck guys." Ruby said as they parted ways down the corridor.

"Good luck!" Yang replied as she and Blake headed down the opposite direction.

_Good luck._ Yang thought. They were gonna need it.

-Designer 3rd Person POV-

Designer was alone, always alone. He hadn't joined Beacon Academy and was operating solo. He was checking up on the warehouses from the information Shadow's team had gotten from Machine. _Amazing what a little hack can do._ He thought. _Man these guys must be rusty if they haven't realized that they HAVE been hacked._ His helmet's built in Heads Up Display scanned the surroundings. The Nova were long gone. There were small traces of Tibanna Gas in the air, solid evidence that they were there, but Designer estimated that they evacuated as soon as Machine was killed. The warehouse was spotless. Other than the faint traces of Tibanna Gas and dust discharges, the Nova cleaned the whole place from top to bottom.

He walked over to the corner of the room and shot a grapple line to the ceiling. He pulled himself up and pulled out a tiny camera from his belt and stuck to the ceiling. If Shash or any of the Nova DID return, Designer wanted to know about it. He also wanted to know what they would return for. After one more sweep, he linked the camera to his database and decided to head back to his so-called base. He had visited about 15 warehouses this morning and needed to restock his supplies. He went outside and found his small portable speeder. He smirked. He had built this speeder off the books. It was lightweight, portable, could be stored on his back as a backpack, and could be used at a homing device or a radio. _The Shadow Troopers think only the Special Operations Brigade gets the good stuff._ He said to himself as he mounted on the speeder and revved the engine. _They are so damn wrong._

Designer hit the accelerator and sped back to his hideout. His cloak covered himself and the speeder and the electrical engine made Designer's travel very discreet. It was only in the sunlight that you could see a faint shimmering outline of him. He drove for about 10 minutes then stopped at a small closed off two-story building. _Home._ He thought to himself as he dismounted and collapsed the speeder into a backpack and clipped it on. He vaulted over the fence and entered the building.

The bottom floor had vacant, but the top floor is where Designer had set himself up. _Shadow and Jared probably wonder where I go off all the time._ The top floor had 4 large rectangular tables. 2 tables had crudely set up computer systems (Designer's database), one table had files on all members related to Shadow and Shash (This included Team RWBY as well), and the last table had anything relating from medical supplies to lab supplies.

He walked over to the closet to the right of the room and opened it. This was his armory. His armory consisted of 6 canisters of Tibanna Gas, 10 standard Thermal grenades, a Vibrosword, his DC-15X rifle, and his specialized DC-15S. His DC-15S had been specialized to be almost completely silent and fire laser rounds almost near invisible. Aside from his armory, Des carried his twin DC-17B heavy blaster pistols and his vibroblade. He reached into the armory and grabbed two silencers, both for his pistols (These were his invention of course).

After, he went over to his date table and slipped a few more cameras into his belt and checked his computer. The cameras were working fine. Designer rigged a program signifying that if anyone entered the vicinity a signal would be sent to his HUD and the cameras would immediately start recording. Then he checked the next few locations and went off. It was going to be a long day for him.

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

Jared entered his dorm and found TJ and GT practicing with vibroblades in their leisure clothes. Each one had a vibroblade in their hand and kept constantly throwing slashes while parrying and blocking each other's attacks. Jared remembered this game. They weren't trying to kill each other, but the goal was to land at least one cut on their opponent's arm or preferably wrist while keeping both of their feet planted. TJ took his eyes off the game for a few seconds acknowledging Jared's entry. GT took the opportunity and landed a cut on TJ's right forearm. TJ grunted sharply as GT cheered in victory.

"Almost blocked that one." TJ said.

"Heh, another bout?" GT chuckled.

TJ looked up and responded with a stern "No."

GT chuckled as he twirled the blade in his hand and slipped it into a holster on the desk. Jared watched TJ as he closed his eyes and concentrated on the wound. His aura healed the cut in seconds.

"Hello sir," GT greeted Jared. "Didn't catch you leave this morning."

"Yeah, I went for a walk." He lied.

"To team RWBY's dorm perhaps?" TJ piped in.

Jared shot a glare at TJ and then replied with, "Not the point."

"You've got a mission for us sir?" GT predicted.

"Negative," Jared chuckled. "Today, I was thinking that we should take a day off work."

GT and TJ cocked their eyebrows. "A day off?" They both asked in unison.

"Guys," Jared started. "I know that Shash is still a threat right now, but he has just lost 4 men. Shash may be hot headed at times and as hard as nails, but he is also very tactical, knowledgeable and cunning. He's not going to attack when he has lost a few of his best men."

TJ and GT thought for a moment, then nodded.

"Great!" Jared cheered. "Get dressed and let's take a stroll on the town."

GT and TJ began to prepare. All of a sudden GT paused and asked "Sir?"

"Call me Jared right now."

GT nodded. "Err… What are you wearing?"

-Shash 3rd Person POV-

Shash was in Roman Torchwick's office staring into the distance through the window. He had just received a message from his Nova 'Kill' confirming that Shadow was in his possession. He cycled through his Nova's locations on his HUD. Then he signaled two Nova closest to Beacon to prep the hit. He copied all the information needed and pasted it on the Nova database. He heard Roman open the door behind him and enter the room.

"Hello Roman." Shash greeted evilly.

"You know my rules Shash," Torchwick reminded. "Helmets off in my office."

Shash growled under his breath as he popped the seal on his helmet and slipped it under his arm. He turned to face him.

"Better?" Shash asked.

"Better."

"So why did you summon me?" Torchwick had called Shash when he was on his way to Beacon. He said it was urgent.

"I wanted to talk to you about something," He began. "About someone, someone you have kept secret from me," Shash stared Torchwick down but Torchwick didn't surrender. As he kept talking he stepped closer and closer to Shash. "And I don't like secrets." At that moment, Torchwick was only centimeters from his face.

Shash clenched his fists, holding back all instincts to punch Torchwick square in the face. He took a deep breath.

"Not sure I know who you are talking about." Shash gritted his teeth.

Torchwick nodded lightly with his cocky attitude and turned towards his desk and started fiddling with his cane.

"So I guess that the unusual Beacon Academy student Shadow is unknown to you? I know he came from your world."

Shash remained silent.

Torchwick brought the tip of his cane to Shash's chin making him flinch back a bit. "Don't test my patience," He said. "I know you are keeping him in an abandoned warehouse off the books."

Shash held a stern face. "Now how did you know that?" He asked, his anger noticeable in his tone.

"I know everything Shash," Torchwick gloated. "I know that you hate Shadow, I know you want to kill his second in command Jared, and I know that you have diverted some of my resources so you can play your little game."

Shash was ready to kill him on the spot. "I see where we stand," Shash replied. "Now what are your thoughts?" Shash slowly reached for his sidearm.

"Simple," Torchwick began. "First of all, I'm not going to kill you or terminate a partnership. You and your boys are just too valuable," At that sentence, Shash stopped his hand and returned it to his sides. "Second, you will explain to be what exactly you used my resources for."

"And third?" Shash asked.

"Kill Shadow."

"I beg your pardon?"

Torchwick turned to face him. "He is a waste of space, money, resources and time. Kill him."

"I can agree with all of your terms but that one Roman." Shash growled.

"I do not intend to give you a choice."

Shash walked closer to Torchwick, getting close enough that they could feel each other's breath.

"You think you've got it." Shash sneered. "You think you've got all the power. You're wrong. I'm telling you right now, I will agree to all of your terms, but I will not release Shadow," Shash shoved past Torchwick and began to exit the room. "Let me make myself clear. If you double-cross me or any of my men," He quickly drew his side arm and blind fired precisely at Torch wick's hat, knocking it off. "I will burn you and your entire organization to the ground."

"One more thing Shash," Torchwick had picked up his hat and was dusting it furiously. "You said 10 of you came through into this world when you said that you only had 9 men."

"I was given a babysitter." Shash sneered.

"Whose name was?"

Not answering the question, Shash slammed the door behind him and went down the corridor, slipping his helmet on right away. Torchwick wouldn't betray him. He would let him keep Shadow. Shash had made his point. Shash entered the hangar of the hideout and stared at his ace in the hole.

Everything that you hold dear to you Shadow, those you love, those you follow, and those who follow you, they will all burn. And so will you.

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Shadow had a plan. In order for his plan to work, he needed to know where he was. He looked up at the windows. If he could swing himself up to one, he could attempt alert any civilians walking by or at the least discover where he is being kept. With the camera watching him in the corner, he wouldn't have much time. He started to swing, back and forth, back and forth. Each swing he kicked forward harder and harder. The guards were most likely on their way now. Finally he just about reached the window and kicked as hard as he could. Shadow flailed his arms forward to catch the ledge of the window. His chains were toss so he couldn't reach the window so he kicked the glass. Funny, He thought. I haven't seen this side of Vale before.

Shadow had absolutely no idea where he was. His attempt was in vain. The window came out at ground level, so he was in the basement of a building, but there were no people to call out to. All of a sudden a guard's foot came straight for his face. Wham! The blow caught him off guard. Again, with no aura to help him, he took the kick with full force and went flying of the window ledge. Just before he hit the ground the chains went toss and with a snap his arms flailed. His vision was blurry but he focused on his condition. He must've pulled a tendon or few in his arms. A sharp pain rang through his arms. There was a bruise on his forehead. He tried to look up but everything was going black. It would've made no difference. He caught the glimpse of the 10 guards aiming their dust weapons at him.

-Weiss 3rd Person POV-

"Nothing here!" Ruby called out to Weiss.

She groaned. This was warehouse number 20 on their list. All day they have just been checking warehouse after warehouse on a list, compliments of Shadow and his team, and all day they have found nothing. It was like nothing had been there in the first place.

"Are you sure this was the right address?" Ruby asked.

"Of course I'm sure." Weiss snapped.

"Ugh. There is literally no proof that anyone has entered the warehouse. Even the dust, well the dirty dust, is settled. If someone was here they would have to be a ghost."

Weiss looked at her Ruby's belt with something catching her eye.

"What are you carrying?" Weiss asked. "I don't mean Crescent Rose."

"Oh this?" Ruby held Shadow's DC-17B sidearm. "I found it."

Weiss shook her head. "You mean you found it in Shadow's room."

"No!" Ruby denied. "Okay yes!" she then admitted. "It just looked cool and I wanted to test it out or something."

"What, you don't like your own weapon?"

"No, it's just that I love seeing new ones."

"Mhm," Weiss opened the warehouse addresses on her scroll and ticked off the one they were at. "Well, on to the next one. I hope the others are having more luck than we are."

-Yang 3rd Person POV-

Yang and Blake were traveling on Yang's bike. They were headed for the shady side of the town, off to meet one of Yang's 'friends'. She had been here before, gathering information on people she and team RWBY have been looking for in their past experiences before Shadow and his team arrived.

"You sure he isn't mad after the first time you blew up his club?" Blake asked.

"Oh I'm sure he's furious," Yang giggled. "But I blew up this club on my own. What do you think is gonna happen between the two of us?"

Blake smirked lightly and nodded.

The two walked into the building and caught the sight of two guards. One of them pointed at Yang and the other jolted back a bit. Yang responded by waving back. Then the two guards entered the main club and slid the big doors closed behind them. Blake looked at Yang unorthodoxy.

"They always get that reaction." Yang winked and cocked her Ember Cecelias.

Blake took it as a sign and reached for her Gambol Shroud.

As they got closer Yang fired a heavy round at the doors sliding them open. As the dust cleared, she and Blake (Yang more causal and Blake more tense) entered the main floor. There was no one there, no one but the 40 guards waiting for them armed to the teeth.

"Huh, I guess Junior doesn't leave much to chance does he?" Yang said casually and oppressively, predicting a fight. "So, what's it gonna be? Am I gonna see who I want to see? Or am I gonna send you all to the hospital and then see who I want to see?"

The men hesitated for a moment, and then lowered their weapons.

"Hmph, no playtime this time I guess." She chuckled.

"Junior is in his office upstairs." One of the guards said.

"Thank you." Yang winked at Blake who just shook her head, and then the two made their way upstairs.

Yang hadn't been to Junior's office before. He must have just gotten it installed recently. She wondered what his reaction would be this time. She also prayed that he knew what she wanted to know. While he is said to know about everything that goes on in Vale, there have been times when she couldn't rely on his intel. Finally they reached the office. It was very red. Red walls, red lighting, and red windows which peered down into the club. The only thing that wasn't red was his brown desk and black chair he was sitting on. He worked his signature outfit, white dress shirt, black pants and vest, along with his red sunglasses.

"Nice office," Yang greeted. "I don't like it."

"What do you want now Blondie?" Junior groaned. Blondie had been his nickname for her ever since they met.

"Same old." She tossed him her scroll to plug into his computer.

Junior slipped off his shades. "You know you can't always ask me everything," he stated. "I've clearly found out that I don't know EVERYTHING that goes on in Vale. Not to mention that you could go ask others."

"They are no fun," Yang chuckled. "But you should at least know something. And you do. It might be very insignificant and probably won't help me, but I want to know it anyway."

Junior sighed as he started looking at the information on her scroll. "By the way, who is your friend?" He asked.

Blake was about to respond but Yang cut her off.

"No one important." She casually said.

Blake glared at her, but Yang ignored it.

"The flaming dropship," Junior read. "I know something about this. The White Fang took a loan from me. Curious, I decided to follow up and see what they would do with it. And they bought several dropships."

"More than one?" Blake asked.

"Along with a few armaments."

"Something tells me they didn't just get a few." Blake said to Yang.

"What about the Nova?" Yang asked.

"Well, a man in red armor approached me a few days ago." Junior looked like he remembered something and just attempted to hide it.

"What did he say to you?"

"Nah, it's nothing. It's unimportant."

Yang caught the hint of a lie in his tone. He cocked her Ember Cecelias. "I won't ask again."

"He left a message," he said after a few moments of silence. "And it was meant for a man in Black armor named Jared."

Yang stiffened. "What was the message!" she asked impatiently.

He clenched his fists for a few moments and weighed a risk inside his head. Finally he spoke. "I'm sorry Blondie, not this time. If it were under different circumstances, I would tell you."

Yang lunged forward, grabbed Junior and slammed him into the desk. She prepared to start beating him. "Tell me!" she screamed.

She didn't notice Blake get a little bit startled, nor did she notice her eyes go red.

"Blondie wait!" Junior exclaimed. "Look, I know how badly you would beat me for this information. Just know that I still wouldn't talk! Understand how deep this goes!"

"Whoever you fear!" Yang threatened. "Fear me more!" she punched Junior in the back. Her Ember Cecelias increased the damage and acted as a shotgun like flare that exploded on impact of the punch. Junior was lucky he too had an aura to keep him from certain death.

"Blondie! I'm sorry!" he apologized weakly. "Not this time!"

"Tell me!" Yang launched blow after blow. This was Jared he was talking about. HER Jared. She was not going to let any plan that might endanger him remain in fruition.

"Yang!" Blake called and caught her arm, but she elbowed her in the face. Yang continued her blows until Blake slashed at her with her sword, knocking her back a foot. Yang's eyes were red and hair felt like it was on fire. "Yang stop!"

Yang was about to engage Blake but then paused in her actions. She had never lost control this badly. Slowly her fire died down and Blake sheathed her blade. Ashamed, she quickly exited the office and rushed out of the club. She got outside and stopped at her bike.

"Yang!" she heard Blake call.

"I'm sorry," Yang apologized. "I don't know what came over me."

"Yes you do," Blake stated. Yang turned towards her, fists clenched, keeping her rage in check. "I know you are worried about Jared. But you need to calm down."

"Calm down?" Yang gritted her teeth. "Your boyfriend has been captured and mine is in inevitable danger!"

"That doesn't give you or me any right to lose control!"

Yang was about to reply, but gone silent when she had no response.

"You had sex with Jared didn't you?" Blake asked sternly. "Answer the question."

Yang didn't even breathe. She was on the brink of lashing out again, this time at Blake. Blake noticed this and decided to drop the subject, realizing she was right.

"Let's get back to Beacon," She sighed. "I think that's enough action for us today."

Yang nodded and the two walked towards Yang's bike.

All of a sudden, the bike flashed and a sharp pain filled the air around Yang. It burned, like fire. In moments she was flying through the air and plummeting into the pavement. She attempted to sit up and look around with her blurry vision. She looked in the direction of where her bike was, but only saw burning metal and wreckage. As her vision cleared she managed to catch sight of a shadow on the rooftops. Yang snapped into full rage. She slammed her fists into the ground using the recoil of her Ember Cecelia's to launch her after the attacker. Her vision was like a funnel, with the familiar sight of a Nova trooper at the end. She was going at full speed jumping from rooftop the rooftop attempting to gain less distance between herself and the Nova. He seemed to notice her coming and turned for brief moments to fire rounds of blue bolts at her. In reaction, she either dodged with ease or fired an explosive round to intake the Tibanna Gas. Finally the chase took to ground as the Nova fired a cable from his blaster and expertly swung into an alley landing in a dive roll. Yang just jumped and used her aura to remove any damage she might have taken. The alley was narrow, not much room for dodging. This left Yang at a disadvantage, now having to take cover from the Nova's shots. This also meant that Yang could not fire off any more explosive rounds. None of them would make it far enough without running into a wall. She noticed the Nova stop right before he turned a corner but disregarded it. She kept chasing. As she turned the corner, she realized she had made a mistake. The burning force of a Thermal Grenade knocked her from behind off her feet and sent her tumbling out of the alley. She got up just in time to see Blake cut off the Nova.

She pulled out her Gambol Shroud and unsheathed the blade. The Nova seemed to realize he was trapped and he ejected blades from his forearms. They seemed to replicate the SBH's so called vibroblade, except it went along his forearms past his knuckles. He prepared for combat. Yang and Blake circled him and used facially expressions to signal a plan. The Nova didn't intend to give them the opportunity so he attacked first. He came at Blake, slashing at her and parrying her counterattacks. Yang came from behind to embed a round in his back but the Nova anticipated the attack. He got under Yang's arc and slashed his blade at her face. Her aura was already low from the thermal, but now it was dangerously low. She stumbled back for the Nova's attack. Blake was holding him off. Her Faunus reflexes were able to outmatch his attacks but the Nova was fast and persistent. At one moment, Blake overshot her attack by centimeter and the Nova brought his shin to her gut. He elbowed her in the back then kicked her to the ground. He prepped the finishing blow. Yang sprang at him and caught him off guard with a punch to his back. The impact combined with the firepower of her Ember Cecelia sent him flying into a dumpster. Unlike his leader, the Nova didn't showcase any rage or frustration. He was focused. He once again prepared for second encounter. Yang had cooled off a bit and now fought carefully. _Pow! Block, POW! POW!_ The two carefully exchanged blows. Hoping to catch him off guard, Yang went for a high kick to his head. The Nova anticipated the attack and ducked but he wasn't prepared for Yang's low kick. He stumbled back and scanned her briefly. Yang waited for his first strike.

"You're good Ad'ika," he spoke an unfamiliar word. "I'll give you that."

The Nova lunged at Yang, taking the first slash. Yang quickly deflected the slash and anticipated a kick to her gut. She blocked it with ease. The Nova was rushing her now, ducking, slashing, rolling, kicking, and forcing her back. Yang had the end the fight. Attempting to get under the arc of his kick, she dived into a roll and came up behind him. Using her opportunity of surprise, she launched her foot to the back of his left knee putting him into a crouch position. Then she brought her left arm with her Ember Cecilia into a downward punch. The Nova was ready, he brought his blades into a blocking motion over his head and braced himself. Ear piercing shrieks, vibrations and dust impacts filled the air. In the dust Yang had lost sight of her opponent. Wham! I was too late. She was already rolling into the pavement result of a hard kick to her back.

Her combat reflexes still at work rolled her onto her feet to face her opponent. She eyed her aura indicator quickly on her scroll in her belt. It was only a quarter full.

"Still want to dance?" The Nova laughed.

"How about a threesome!" Blake was now back on her feet lined up with Yang, prepared for combat. Yang smirked. He couldn't take on two of them.

The Nova made a quick calculation in his head, then said "Another time." and then hit a button on his wrist.

Yang and Blake quickly looked around them to find thermals planted on the ground around them. The Nova had placed them during their encounter. It was far too late for them to even flinch. The same warm burning force rocked the two of them, launching them onto the street. When Yang finally regained the strength to get up, the Nova was gone. Blake walked towards Yang and offered her a hand. Yang took it.

"Are you all right Yang?" Blake asked. "You got hit hard."

"I've been worse." Yang replied. Suddenly, she felt really weak and collapsed into Blake's arms.

"I've got you." Blake caught her.

Yang, remembering a moment during the encounter started laughing.

"What is it?" Blake asked.

"How about a threesome?" Yang recited with a smirk.

Blake smiled and shook her head.

"Sorry, catchphrases aren't my thing." Blake blushed.

"Leave that to me." Yang stated.

The two began to walk back to Beacon. Yang was still furious about her bike, but there was nothing she could do about it. _I don't think my insurance will cover this._ She thought.

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

The boys were hitting the town. So what better place to start at a bar? They had rented out a car using a fake license they had contacted Designer to make up for them. He seemed busy today. Doing what? Jared didn't know. The team took a cheap black (of course) Corolla. Jared had gotten word that there was a really authentic bar in town and decided to go there. He was of course driving, being the team's best pilot. It's funny. Driving a car seemed to be very similar to driving a speeder back on Coruscant. They also had similar traffic rules making it easy as pie for Jared to adapt. Of course he was used to driving in high-speed chases, but he could drive casually if needed. Finally they reached their destination. Jared parked on the side of the street and the three of them got out of the car. TJ and GT were wearing something similar to Jared, except GT had his vibroblade strapped in a holster on his shin and TJ carried his DC-17B side arm in a holster on his belt.

"Well, here we are!" Jared stated happily.

It was a sketchy one-story building. The lighting from inside was dim and the building was painted a simple black. The sign was just blank.

"I don't know about this." GT said.

"Any of you watch those holo-vids?" TJ asked in a good mood. Jared and GT shook their heads. "Well, then follow my lead."

TJ seemed to walk sketchily into the bar. Jared had no idea what he was up to. He burst the doors open and the bar went silent, despite the light music in the background. Jared followed TJ to the bar and watched him take a seat.

"A glass of wine," TJ asked. "The strong stuff, straight up."

The bartender nodded then preceded to ready his order. Jared kind of got the memo of what TJ was doing and decided to do something. He walked up to a random person's table and flipped it over. Holding a stern face, he stared down the sketchy people sitting there. They stared back. Not getting the reaction he wanted, he went back to the bar and sat beside GT. He looked to his left. GT and TJ were staring at him unorthodoxy.

"What the hell was that?" GT whispered sharply.

"I don't know." Jared whispered back sheepishly.

TJ just face palmed. Jared felt GT nudge him in the stomach to look at a reflection from behind them. A large man got up from the back of the bar. He was wearing a stained undershirt, but Jared couldn't determine his height from here.

"Good job, he's pissed." GT scolded.

"He won't take on two of us right?" Jared predicted.

"He's humungous."

"Just stand up together when he gets closer and he'll back down."

GT acknowledged Jared's plan and the two waited. They could hear the thudding of his footsteps as he got closer and closer. Finally, Jared signaled GT and the two got up. Jared found himself face to face with the man's pectorals. The same thing happened to GT. The two slowly looked up. The man had to be almost eight feet tall. Out massed, the two slouched a little then returned to their seats.

"He's humungous." Jared restated.

"That's what I just said." GT argued.

"Oh dear you two." TJ just rubbed his forehead.

"Excuse me," The large man bellowed. "You messed up my friend's shirt over there.

"So, low to high?" GT suggested.

"No, he's too big. High to low." Jared planned.

"I'll sweep the floor I guess." TJ added.

"Excuse me." The large man bellowed once more.

"Go!" Jared called.

GT and Jared went for a punch to the man's face with opposite arms. They followed up with a punch to his gut and another to his face. The man stumbled back just in time for TJ to sweep his leg under him and send him flat on his back. Jared then knocked him out with a kick to his face. All of a sudden, the sounds of weapons clicking and energy charging echoed around the room. Everyone in the bar was armed and pointing their guns at them.

"I guess we'll leave then." Jared ordered and the three left the bar.

"Next time, I'll make first impressions." TJ nudged Jared. GT just chuckled.

Jared shook his head as he got into the driver's seat and they drove away.

"So where to now?" GT asked.

Jared thought for a few moments, and then remembered a place Yang told him about. "I know a place," He said. "Yang has a friend there, so that's gotta be a good sign."

"All right."

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

*Flashback*

"Move it Cadets! Let's go!"

Cadet CT-1946-86 was attempting to keep up with his squad. They were doing a quick jog around the complex on Tipoca City, Kamino. The clone drill sergeant was pushing the cadets to their limits. All of a sudden, CT-1946-86 stumbled forward and fell on his knees.

"Halt!" the Sergeant barked. He eyed the fallen Cadet and shook his head. "Take five Cadets! You know the rules!

"No man left behind!" the cadets recited in unison.

"Damn right!" the Sergeant walked towards some random officers to greet them.

CT-1946-86 got up and leaned against a wall trying to catch his breath.

"What's the matter 86?" one of the other cadets called. "Can't take a simple jog?

"I'm fine." 86 wheezed.

"Heh, say that when you're thigh deep in mud with blaster bolts whizzing past you." the cadet chuckled.

"Agh, leave him alone," another cadet intervened. "You know about the malfunction in his growth jar."

"Oh yeah. I wonder if you will ever make it out of here with a condition like that."

"ATTENTION!" the drill Sergeant barked.

The Cadets gathered in a line almost instantly.

"Cadets, today we have a special visitor. Pay your respects to General Mack, head of the Shadow Black Hole division."

86 was surprised. The Shadow Troopers were some of the best in the Special Operations Brigade. They were meant to fill in on special missions due to the dwindling amount of Republic Commandos. Of course they were not superior to the Alpha class Advanced Recon Commandos or the crazy Nulls that ran off with Kal Skirata, but to hold the title of Shadow Trooper was still a great achievement.

The General approached the line of Cadets. He was wearing the black armor with a red visor. On top of that, he wore a pauldron and kama along with a command sash to signify his rank. He eyed the Cadets carefully.

"Who wants to be an ARC trooper!" he asked loudly.

"I do sir!" the cadets responded in unison and stepped forward.

"Well sorry to let you down because that is not my decision to make!" The cadet's spirits dropped only slightly. "I'm looking for recruits, recruits for the Shadow Black Hole division. While normally Shadow Troopers would be trained from birth, we need to meet the supply in demand!" 86 was interested. "So, show your skill, prove yourself, and I might just let one of you in."

The cadets were silent. Never had any troopers they had known gotten an opportunity like this, and none of them were ready to pass it up.

"That will be all Sergeant. Continue with your drill."

"Sir yes sir," the Sergeant saluted "All right you lot! Combat room, stat!"

*Combat room*

86 slipped on his training armor and checked his DC-15S. He loaded it with stun rounds and clipped it to his belt. His training armor was white with black stripes, signifying his squad.

"Hey 86," a cadet from his squad nudged him. " You going for Shadow Trooper?"

"Definitely," 86 replied. "Just shoot those sim-droids before they shoot us."

"Keep up with the squad and I'll take you up on that promise." the cadet chuckled.

86 smiled. All of a sudden a voice came over the P.A.

"Attention all Cadets. There has been a change in the program today. Today you will be in combat against each other. Squads Echo, Charlie, Zeta and Gamma, please report to platforms 4, 5, 6, and 7 for combat."

86 was part of Zeta Squad. it consisted of him and 4 other teammates. The squad quickly made their way to platform 6.

"You boys ready?" cadet CT-3654 asked.

"Ready as ever." CT-1272 replied.

"You ready to keep that promise 86?" CT-3661 smirked.

"If you are." 86 replied.

Just before the platform reached the battleground, a briefing came up on a hologram in front of them.

"Greetings Zeta Squad. Your mission is to capture the small bunker in the middle of the map and hold it off from all opposition. Last team standing wins. If the battle exceeds 30 minutes, the team holding the bunker wins. Good luck Zeta."

Hologram disappeared and the reached the battleground. 86 was surprised. It was all forest and the lighting had been dimmed so he could only see a few feet in front of him. The base had to be somewhere in the middle.

"Lights on," CT-3654 ordered. "On me."

The squad reached for the flashlight attachment on their belt and clipped it onto their DC-15S. The team then slowly moved into the jungle. It was intense. Every bone in 86's body was yelling danger at him, but there was nothing to be seen. They moved on for about a minute till they reached enemy contact. The familiar markings of Echo squad were easy to notice. They had already taken the outpost and have been in a firefight with Charlie squad. Charlie has one man down and two more pinned up close to the front. With another scream, another member from Charlie was knocked down, courtesy of a rifleman carrying a DC-15A on Echo.

"Let's join the party." CT-3661 snickered.

"Wait," 86 halted. "Where is Gamma?"

"Who cares, let's blind side Echo and take the outpost."

CT-3661 took three steps before he was knocked down by a stun bolt. 86 hit the ground. The shots were coming from everywhere. He took a quick peak and saw Echo and Charlie still in combat. This was Gamma. 86 reached and pulled 3661 to safety. The team members pointed their lights everywhere, attempting to get a glimpse of their attackers. 86 did something different. He switched off his floodlight and folded back the stock on his DC-15S. He rested it on his shoulder and took cover behind a tree. He peeked over. There were blue bolts flying towards his teammates, well more or less towards their lights.

"Lights off guys!" he yelled. "You're giving them a target!"

"We can't see without the light smart one!" 1272 shot back.

"Just shut them off!"

Zeta team plunged into darkness with only the blue bolts whizzing past their heads for lighting. Slowly, the shots from Gamma team began to cease. No one could see anything. 86 motioned his team to stay down while he began to climb a tree.

"Hey, where do you think you are going?" 1272 whispered sharply.

"They are gonna wait us out. Just open fire in the places you last saw them in give or take 20 seconds. No lights."

"You're crazy 86."

"Do it."

86 continued to climb the tree. He got up halfway and looked around. Sure enough he saw nothing. He was glad to see his squad followed his plan and the firefight began. Gamma wasn't able to hit anything but their aim was close enough to pin Zeta down. 86 had to take out the enemy. The only way he knew how to at the moment. He scanned the brush, searching for the muzzle flashes of the hidden DC-15S's. There. He saw one. Taking careful aim to estimate where his target was, he opened fire. Sure enough, the member of Gamma went down. One by one, 86 began to pick them off until two remained. They had no choice but to activate their floodlights to search for him or attempt to blind him. With the sudden firing of the rest of 86's team, they were taken down seconds after they activated their lights. 86 slid down the tree.

"Lights off." he smirked.

3654 shook his head and motioned the team forward. He left 1272 to watch the downed 3661. It was only the trio of him, 86, and 4449. They approached their objective. Charlie was down and Echo still had all five men on guard.

"Stealth." 86 muttered.

"What?" 3654 asked.

"Something tells me this simulation was planned by the General. He's looking for Shadow Troopers. Shadow troopers rely on stealth."

"Makes sense." 4449 piped in.

"All right then. Stealth it is I guess." 3654 agreed.

The three moved as quietly as possible. All of a sudden 86 paused them when they got to the wall.

"What?" 4449 asked.

"They saw us."

"How certain are you?" 3654 questioned.

86 walked slowly to the end of the wall. He held his blaster in one hand pointing it straight. He fired as soon as he saw a head poke out of the corner. Thud! The Echo squad member was down.

"Rush!" 3654 exclaimed and the squad ran around the corner, engaging the remaining squad members.

The fight went on for a few moments till Echo's rifleman found a clear line of sight on them. Blam! Blam! 3654 and 4449 went down. 86 took a quick shot at the rifleman, taking him down fast, but the remaining three Echo Squad members overwhelmed him. He was shot in the chest, and then everything went black.

Shadow shot straight up. He was in the same place. His dark prison. He looked around. The windows had been blocked with wooden planks and the window ledges have been rounded. It was time to his second attempt to escape. The camera was watching him and he was glad it was. He pulled himself up on the chains and reached for his belt. Hidden in his leisure clothes, he had his wrist blade. He activated it. Because a Kyber crystal powered it, it sliced his chains off instantly. He didn't stop to remove his cuffs. He didn't have the time. He quickly hid behind the door. When it opened, he jabbed the blade into the guard's chest. They were hired men. Not white fang members. He reached for his holster and grabbed his dust pistol. When two more guards came down the hallway, he shot them down quickly with the weapon. He turned and saw two more men already closed in on him with swords. Without his aura, he was at a disadvantage. He stepped back to avoid the first blade and blocked the second with his gun. Big mistake, the sword activated the dust rounds inside and blew the gun up in his face. Shadow stumbled back. The first man came at him again. Shadow ducked to avoid the blow and caught the bladed arm. He reeled the guard his close for and elbow to the face. Shadow then took the blade and started slashing at him, finishing the guard with a stab to the gut. The second one almost caught him. Shadow had barely dodged a slash to the chest, but the guard's sword managed to leave a thin cut near his ribs. Shadow whirled around and fast at he could and disarmed his opponent with a hard smash. He whirled once more and connected the butt of the sword to the guards face, knocking him out.

Shadow kept moving. On the way, he properly clipped the wrist blade to his arm and kept the sword. He reached the next floor. It was another room, twice as large as the one he was held in, and except this one was filled with guards. They all pulled out Tasers. Shadow looked forward. About 20 meters in front of him was the exit of the warehouse. Shadow wasted no time. He went into full sprint, attempting to block any Taser wires that went his way. Kzzt! About halfway there, a wire caught him in the arm, the electricity flowed through his veins, but he didn't stop. Then another got him, then another, and another. Shadow had 10 wires attached to him. He was pulsing with electricity. He began to slow down. It got to the point where he had to take one step every two seconds. His vision was bloodshot and everything was blurry and fading. He managed to catch a glimpse of the angry Nova Trooper Kill pull out his sidearm and switch the setting to stun.

"You bloody cunt." Kill scolded as he shot Shadow in the chest.

Everything went black.

-Designer 3rd Person POV-

Still nothing. It was already evening and he had two more warehouses to go to. Everyone, the place had been cleaned from top to bottom. He arrived on his speeder to one of the last two warehouses. With a light whirr, he shut off the engine. He folded the speeder and placed it on his back. His cloak was online so he was practically invisible. Just before he entered the warehouse, he paused. He turned up his audio receptors in his helmet. He was not alone. There were two unknowns in the warehouse. He equipped his silenced DC-17Bs and entered silently, military style. Then he found out who else was there. He saw the friendly appearances of Ruby and Weiss. He smirked when he got an idea and holstered his weapons. Silently, he crept behind the two.

"Ugh, there is nothing here!" Ruby groaned.

"Before you ask, this is the correct address." Weiss stated.

"I really, really hope Yang had more luck than we did."

"Boo!" Designer disengaged his cloak right behind them.

The two made girly screams and Ruby jumped into Weiss's arms. Designer just laughed. Weiss quickly dropped Ruby after recovery.

"Heh, hello ladies." Designer chuckled.

"Don't do that Designer!" exclaimed.

"Totally unprofessional." Weiss scolded.

"I beg to differ," Designer smirked. "That was professional stealth I used to sneak up on you. And you should have felt me with your aura."

Ruby and Weiss just looked at each other.

"So, what are you guys doing?" Designer asked. "This doesn't look like girls week."

"How did you?"

Designer pulled a camera from his belt. "Tell Blake to check your bookshelf."

"So you know why we are here?" Weiss asked.

"Not yet."

"Then I guess you don't hear everything" Weiss gloated.

"Then I was hoping you could enlighten me on how you got these addresses and why you lied to Jared. And also, where is Shadow, because he isn't with Jared or your other team members."

"Well, to start, we got the addresses from Shadow's team." Ruby explained.

"He gave them to you?"

"... Not exactly..."

"You managed to steal data from them?" Designer laughed. "Damn, those guys must be rusty. So, the next two questions."

"We wanted to do Shadow a favor."

"And the third?" they were lying about the second question. Designer had an eye for this.

Ruby and Weiss looked at each other.

"Instead of coming up with a lie, tell me the truth. Now."

"Shadow has been captured." Ruby blurted out.

"Nice job you dunce!" Weiss nudged her.

"Would've made no difference Weiss," Designer defended. "I would have found out one way or another. Now what do you mean Shadow has been captured?"

Ruby showed him the footage.

"Damn it Shash." Designer muttered.

"We've searched almost every warehouse on the data received from Machine," Ruby continued. "There is absolutely nothing here."

"Oh they were here, I'm 100% sure of that. But Shash's men are some of the best when it comes to covert operations. They cleaned everything top to bottom, even going lengths to settle dust, leaving it appear to be undisturbed. But trust me, they have been here, and every single one of those addresses on your list."

"So Shadow is not being kept in any of these warehouses." Weiss confirmed.

"I estimate that they have been gone ever since Machine was killed by TJ."

"Wait, how do you know that? You weren't even here."

"As a matter of fact," Designer explained. "I was sent by the Supreme Commander to tag along with Shash and make sure he didn't attempt to kill the Shadow Troopers when they found them. They haven't exactly had a good history so I was insurance. Unfortunately, when we were transported to this world, Shash and his men managed to slip my leash. It took me weeks to track them till I found them here, which is around the time Machine was killed."

"So you didn't bother to say hi?" Ruby asked.

"I kept my distance till I made sure that Shadow's new allies were not a threat."

"Gee, trust issues much?" Weiss crossed her arms.

"Didn't Yang blow up a club for no reason?" Designer shot back. "And wasn't Blake a member of the White Fang? The same group that Shash has formed an alliance with? Oh yeah, and lets not forget the shady dealings your family has had."

Weiss backed down after the comment about her family.

"What I don't understand is why you haven't told Jared."

"Shadow's team has had a lot of pressure, especially recently," Ruby explained. "We thought we could take these off their plate for a bit."

"I see..."

"So are you going to tell Jared?"

"Do you want me to?" Designer questioned.

Ruby and Weiss looked at each other, not knowing what decision to make.

"I guess I won't," Designer sighed. "While I highly recommend telling Jared, I will keep your secret."

"Really?" Ruby asked.

"Mhm, under one condition. I'm helping you."

"Gratefully accepted." Ruby agreed.

"So what other leads do you have?"

"The warehouses were our only solid lead, but Yang and Blake went to ask around the shady side of town."

"Where are they now?"

"Most likely at Beacon by now. Let's go."

Designer nodded and let Ruby lead the way.

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

*Flashback*

CT-1946-86 was back in his cadet suit. His squad and him were headed towards the cafeteria. They had lost the combat match earlier to Echo Squad. On the way there, they passed by the cheerful obnoxious Echo Squad.

"Hey boys!" one of them chuckled, "It's Zeta."

"Nice try Zeta," another piped in. "But you might want to try aiming next time."

Echo team laughed.

"Yeah, yeah, good job." CT-3654 replied with a hint of aggressiveness in his tone.

"Guys, I took out two of them from an obvious high point, they might as well run into battle blind-folded." Echo team just laughed.

"We don't need to hear the Echo." 86 gritted his teeth, implying the pun as a comeback.

"And we don't need to be told what to do by Zeta." an Echo Squad member sneered.

86's fists clenched.

"Hey leave him alone, or he'll erupt like a Volcano." Another Echo Squad member mocked. "You remember what happened to his growth jar."

"Oh yeah, we should call him Volcano!"

"Don't call me Volcano..." 86 was resisting the urge to throw a punch.

"C'mon guys, let's go." CT-3654 shoved past Echo Squad.

86 slowly started to calm down until-

"See you around Volcano." an Echo squad member chuckled.

86 lost it. He whirled into a spinning roundhouse punch catching the Echo Squad cadet on the right side of the head. The cadet stumbled forward and spun for a counter punch. 86 easily deflected the punch an slammed his forearm to the cadet's forehead, then knocked him with a punch square to his face. The cadet went down out cold. Quickly the other members attempted to avenge their teammate and 86 felt the presence of his squad join him. 86 engaged another, blocking his kick and grabbing his next punch. He twisted the wrist till he heard a satisfying snap, the elbowed him on the bridge of his nose. Suddenly someone tackled him. He didn't see who it was, but he saw a black armored arm attempt to subdue him. The person was on 86's back keeping 86 pinned to the floor. After the black armored figure secured 86's left arm, he reached for his face. 86 knew what was coming next. The armored figure was going to attempt to stick his two fingers into 86's nostrils and pull, commando style. 86's right arm elbowed the black armored person in the gut, bringing him closer. 86 reached for the back of his neck and pulled him forward with all of his weight, throwing the black armored fired flat on his back. The person revealed to be a Shadow trooper. 86 paused in surprise. Wham! Someone clubbed him on the back of the head and he slowly started fading. He saw blurry glimpses of shadow troopers dragging him away.

Finally he awoke and was tossed onto a bench and the troopers left the room. The room was dark with red lighting. He rubber the back of his head and brought himself into recovery position. Then he sat up on the bench, only to be stared down by the one and only General Mack.

"My boys didn't hit you that hard did they?" Mack asked.

"Am I in trouble again?" 86 rubbed the back of his head. This was not the first time a fight like this had happened, ending with him in a dark room with a high rank.

"That depends on your choice."

86 looked at him curiously.

"CT-1946-86. Why the dash?"

"It was to separate me from the others, so the Kaminoans could keep an eye on my performance. They were a bit concerned about my growth jar malfunction."

"I see." Mack pulled up a data tablet. "Your combat scores are impressive. Not to mention your combat skills. Not many troopers, nonetheless cadets can evade my Shadow Troopers like that."

86 remained silent.

"I am also impressed by your teams performance at the combat session earlier today."

"We lost that session terribly." 86 shook his head.

"But you did use tactics that almost gave you the chance of winning."

"But we still lost."

"Have you ever heard of the stories of the Republic Commandos on Geonosis?"

86 shook his head.

"Well, of all the Commandos deployed there, only half of them returned. Yet they showcased superior skill and strength even though they operated in squads so little. They could take down an entire platoon of droids just on their own. They took down Core ships, eliminated key leaders, in short, they made Geonosis a large strategic victory."

"What is your point!?" 86 asked sharply. He paused and caught his tone. "Sorry sir, I meant no disrespect."

"It's fine, I just don't want to see you do it again around here. The men here aren't exactly your average brawlers."

86 stopped in shock after realizing what Mack was implying. He wasn't on Kamino.

"... Where am I?" 86 asked slowly.

All of a sudden, the doors to the room slid open, revealing a large intense training ground illuminated with low red lights.

"CT-1946-86, welcome to Freos, and welcome to the Shadow Black Hole Division."

86's jaw dropped.

"A word of advice," Mack leaned towards him. "Do what you do best, stick to the darkness, like a Shadow..."

Shadow woke up once more. The sounds of Kill's angry footsteps got closer and closer. Just as Shadow looked up, Kill gave him a hard punch in the face.

"I leave for 3 hours," Kill shook his head. "3 hours and you already attempted to escape twice!" He grabbed Shadow by the collar. "I thought we had an understanding." Shadow spat at his helmet. Kill responded with a hard head-butt. "Now that is bloody rude."

"Go to hell." Shadow insulted.

"Been there, done that. It's your turn." Kill reached into his belt and pulled out a hilt.

Shadow squinted to see what it was. Was it a lightsaber? No, Kill wouldn't be able to get his hands on that. Kill hit the button on the hilt and revealed it to be an energy whip. Oh no.

"2 escape attempts, 20 whips." Kill chuckled. "I hope you enjoy, Commander."

The first whip struck Shadow in the back. He arched back and roared in pain. It was a combined force of 120 V of electricity, the burn of plasma, and the sting of a normal whip. This went on 19 more times and when it was over, Shadow could still feel particles of electricity still pulsing through him.

"You are one tough cookie," Kill chuckled. "No begs for mercy."

"Was I going to get any?" Shadow clicked his teeth.

"Nope," Kill replied and leaned in close. "Not from me, not from Shash, not from anyone. Not one bit." Kill brought his vibroblade close to Kill's chest. "So you see, there is no point in holding this though guy rep. It would satisfy me to hear you call mercy once, but Shash wants you to beg for it. Now I'm curious, what did you think Shash's endgame was?"

"Killing me." Shadow clenched his teeth.

Kill laughed. "You think that's it?" he continued laughing for a few more seconds. "Blimey, you have one thick skull. You think Shash is going to stop killing after your team is dead? After Jared is dead? No. He is going to kill everyone you care about. Ruby, Yang, Weiss, even your precious Blake. The list doesn't just stop there Shadow. But do you want to know the worst part?"

Shadow just stared.

"There is nothing you can do to stop it, and he wants you to watch."

Kill then started making a slow cut across Shadow's chest. It wasn't deep, but it was enough to make Shadow cringe and grunt in pain. After Kill finished, he knocked out Shadow once more, and then left.

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

Jared arrived at the club Yang had told him about. As most buildings in the shady side of town, it was very dark from the outside. Jared looked at the sky. The sky was pink and the sun was slowly setting. Sure glad it's a long weekend. He thought.

"We aren't going to get kicked out of this one as well, right Jared?" GT asked.

"Nah. It'll be fine." Jared assured and started to lead the trio into the building. When they entered, they approached two guards standing in front of two large sliding doors. The guards wore black suits with red ties along with red sunglasses and a fedora.

"Do you have a reservation?" one of them asked.

"No, uh, sorry. I didn't know we needed one." Jared replied.

"Could we get a name?" the other guard asked.

"Jared."

The guards cocked their eyebrows. After exchanging glances, they directed the three of them into the club. The club had white flooring and lighting. On top of that, there was a disco ball and lots of flashing disco lights. The club was packed with people and the DJ (Who was a guard oddly wearing a bear mascot head) was playing a remixed version of a song Jared had heard on the radio once, 'Red like Roses' he recalled.

"Well this is certainly a lot more delightful." TJ remarked.

"Start off with the bar again?" Jared suggested.

"Mhm, just don't shove a table." GT warned.

The three made their way to the bar. They all ordered red wine, usually what they started with.

"You know, Shadow would never let us go to a place like this." TJ stated.

"Yeah. If he caught us here, we would give us a long lecture about health and what red wine does to our bodies." GT chuckled.

"Hey remember that time when he caught us at 79's?" TJ brought up.

"Heh, yeah. He fired his pistol into the air to silence everyone. After having our asses handed to us, he gave us a long lecture about alcohol then made us to the obstacle course at Freos in complete darkness."

"I was in the fucking maze for three hours!" TJ laughed.

"Nevertheless, he is a great leader than a lot of people give him credit for." Jared stated.

"Hell yeah." GT and TJ agreed in unison.

"To Shadow." GT raised his glass.

"To Shadow." Jared and TJ did the same and the three of them clinked glasses and chugged their glass.

"Damn that's strong." TJ winced.

"Bartender, how about some scotch," Jared asked. "Leave the bottle and get three shot glasses."

It was going to be a long night. But it was going to be a good one.

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

*Flashback*

CT-1946-86, or the newly named Shadow had spent about a year at Freos going through intense physical and mental training. What was once dark and unknown to him was now home. He had learned how to fight better, how to move faster, how to be invisible. By now he was a ghost. He knew how to hack, he knew how to kill, and he knew how to infiltrate. He was a Shadow Trooper.

In his time at Freos, he made quick friends there. One of them going by the name of TJ and another going by the name of GT. TJ and GT were also recruits from Kamino like Shadow. Shadow recognized them as two members from Gamma Squad at their training session. The two had planned a strategic stealth attack, which almost took out Shadows squad without any casualties. Almost. They were great sharpshooters, having the highest accuracy out of their batch of cadets. The funny part about those two is they were brothers. Twins more like. Like Shadow, they also had a malfunction in their growth jar, creating two organisms instead of one. They did everything together. They ate together, fought together, and did obstacle courses together. Hell, they even went to the bathroom together. They never left each other behind. Shadow always got a tad bit jealous when his Training Officers would use the two as examples of how all the troopers should treat each other.

His past didn't really matter him at the moment. Today was the day where he would command a squad. He had just gotten promoted to Sergeant and was given a small task. Shadow made his way into the briefing room. After snapping the Officers a crisp salute, he joined the line-up. The line was with his squad consisting GT and TJ (Shadow's personal picks), and two older members. One of them went by the name Pynt (Pronounced Pint), and the other went by the name Vex.

Shadow turned his attention to the mission brief. His team's mission was to take out a key Separatist station in the Correllian sector. It was minimally guarded but they Special Operations Brigade didn't want to waste a team of Republic Commandos on it.

Within a few hours, the team dropped off on a stealth LAAT. The LAAT flew around the station and the Shadow troopers used jetpacks for low gravity insertion. As soon as the group got close to the station's radar, they deactivated their jet packs and just drifted. They had to remain still and mimic asteroids, otherwise the stations turrets would tear them apart.

Shadow tilted his head up to see the hull of the station get closer and closer to him. He raised his arms as slowly as he could to brace himself. He made contact with the station with a quiet deep metal thud. Quickly he magnetized his boots to. Prevent him from bouncing off.

"Lock out your helmet speakers," Shadow ordered. "Stay on the short range private comm channel."

This would make any dialogue between them look like mind reading. This is to others who were not part of their private comms. They would be able to communicate, with absolute silence.

The squad made their way to the airlock and entered the station. They unsealed their suits to use the stations oxygen. Shadow made a hand signal saying to cover the hallways. Shadow pulled up the station data on his Data pad. They had two objectives, take out the station and retrieve sensitive data. The problem is they had to retrieve the data from two decks, and they were a five-man squad. While this would have been easier for RC's (Republic Commandos) to split up, this wasn't going to work out for them. He clicked his teeth to activate the come link.

"Pynt, Vex, data." Shadow decided. _The two could handle themselves. They were veterans._ "TJ, GT, reactor. Let's blow the station."

"You are going to wait for us to get back here right?" Pynt asked.

"Call if you need help." Shadow assured.

The group split up and Shadow made his way with TJ and GT to the reactor core. It was weird, there were less droid patrols then their intel had advised them. The trio would always melt into the shadows at the sign of one. They didn't want to start taking units offline. Finally they reached the top level of the reactor room and entered quietly. Their objective was below them. If they set their charges on the main core, the whole place would disintegrate, even taking a few asteroids with it. Shadow just hoped it wouldn't take their ride back to base. The three looked down. Guarding the area were 10 normal B1 battle droids and 4 B2 Super Battle Droids. The Supers would make this a little more difficult. Their armor was a lot thicker than most. The DC-15A would be a better weapon for this task, but the weaker DC-17M was superior in its accuracy and arsenal having an interchangeable sniper and grenade launcher.

"Snipe 'em from here," Shadow ordered TJ. He could have told GT to take the position. It made no difference due to the fact they were both equally great marksmen. "No anti armor, show clean." Shadow advised GT.

The two attached cables to the side of the railing while TJ reflexively morphed his weapon into its sniper mode. He flicked the stock and signaled he was ready for a short salute. Shadow nodded and began rappelling with GT pulling close behind. Shadow took the first shot, knocking a battle droid's head off with a shot right in between their visual receptors. Quickly he picked off a second target, downing it with three bolts to its torso. GT had already began firing and had taken out three already. _Blam! Crash! Thud!_ TJ had sniped a super battle droid with a direct hit to its head. Shadow had forgot to tell him to pick off the supers first. He was certainly glad TJ did it anyway. It was weird. The combat was not even close to intense. The droids shots were very carefully placed, firing every five seconds. They knew what would happen if one shot managed to tag the power generators. _Krik-Kirk-krik-Kirk-krik!_ Three more droids went down and Shadow looked over at GT as he finished the last Battle droid with a headshot. The SBDs were out, compliments of TJ.

Shadow clicked his teeth to active his commlink. "Hold there TJ, watch out backs," he turned to GT. "Get me an explosive solution." he ordered.

"GT, setting charges." he acknowledged. He didn't have to do much. Three thermals at the least would blow the entire room and trigger the reactors to finish the station. "Time limit sir?" he asked.

"No limit, sync to my detonator."

"Roger."

GT tapped a few more buttons and gave the detonator to Shadow. He clipped it to his belt.

"Pynt, Vex, status." he requested on the comm channel.

"Hard contact sir! Cover blown!" the sound of static and blaster fire busted through the commlink.

"Sit tight, we are on our way!"

Shadow motioned to TJ to pack up and he led them to Pynt's location. By the location they had on Shadows data pad, it looked like they had got to the first data deck. They were working their way to the second. The rush to the other shadow trooper's location seemed like forever. Corridor after corridor. At least they didn't encounter any more droids, but that probably meant they had been summoned to protect the last data deck. Finally they reached PYN's position. They were on the sides of the hallway firing from behind two pillars.

"Friendlies on your six." Shadow warned and fired three quick shots. With a clunk, another droid went down.

"Took you guys long enough." Vex said as he switched to anti armor and fired off a grenade.

Shadow peered over the pillar to see what they were dealing with. Shit. There were two E-Web cannons that have been set up next to the data deck door. They couldn't rush. Those cannons would mow them down in seconds. He had to think of a plan, fast.

"Rollie's on our six!" GT called out.

Rollie's was the slang term the troopers used for Droidekas. Rolling balls of death that could unfold into a hermit like three-legged droid. It had two twin heavy mounted laser weapons on both arms and it's own energy shield.

"Don't let em put up the shields!" Shadow barked and started firing at them. They kept getting closer. Shadow quickly switched his DC-17M into its anti armor mode and flew a grenade into the trio of approaching Droidekas. The front two took the hit, but the last one was smart and rolled around the blast, deploying a few meters closer. As soon as its energy shield went up the squad dived for cover. Whizz! Snap! A sudden cry of pain made Shadow quickly whirl back around. GT had been tagged in the leg. TJ attempted to go assist him but Shadow stopped him. He motioned to GT, pointing two fingers at where his eyes would be under his helmet, and then dragged them across the faceplate. It had been sign language 'play dead' during their training exercises. GT acknowledged it by halting all movement.

The E-web gunners suddenly turned the charge on their cannons to full. As they both concentrated on the Shadow Trooper's cover, the pillars began to grow hot. Slowly, they began melting away.

"Not good." Vex stated. All of a sudden, two metal spheres plopped behind them. "Neither is that!"

"Move!" Pynt exclaimed.

The explosion knocked all of them forward, straight into the firing range of the E-Webs. Within a few seconds, they filled Vex's torso with plasma. Quickly Shadow tossed a thermal grenade. Boom! The E-Web gunners were knocked down. That didn't stop the Droideka. Shadow was quickly shoved so hard he smashed face first into the front door right before it opened. The door slid shut and Shadow got up to scan the room. It was clear. His grenade must have taken out more droids than he thought. TJ was tending to GT and Pynt was angrily downloading the data. TJ applied a seal to the breach in his armor after applying bacta spray.

"Data downloaded." Pynt grunted. "One man down, and we are trapped by a whole bunch of tinnies outside." he tossed the data chip to Shadow. "Here."

"So how the hell are we going to get out of here?" TJ asked.

Shadow knew they were trapped. He thought. What did they have? They had extra ordinance and their standard DC-17M's. He checked the mission clock. They had 2 minutes till their Stealth LAAT circled around for their pick up. Shadow looked at the walls and recalled something he might have remembered during his study of the station architecture.

"TJ, pull up the station schematics."

TJ obeyed. Shadow looked at TJ's data pad and zoomed in on their room. They had one shot. A very dangerous one.

"TJ, grab all of the ordinance GT is carrying and stack it against that wall," he pointed. "Try to direct the explosion outwards."

"What are you up to Shadow?" Pynt scolded. "You'll kill us all."

"Better than going up against the droids outside." he shot back.

All of a sudden, deep sparks started penetrating the door. The droids were cutting through.

"TJ, go, now!" Shadow barked.

TJ began his task while Shadow and Pynt rained their weapons on the door. They didn't have to hold out for long, but there were a lot of droids that were going to come through that door. GT, even dragged to the rear, switched his weapon into sniper mode, prepped for combat. As soon at the door popped off the Shadow Troopers opened fire. They didn't even need to aim. There was only one area for the droids to come through. Just like they were trained, they started doing mag rotations. Opening fire when the other reloaded and vice versa. Thing went well until the Droideka rolled in. Out of anger, Pynt ran up to it and kicked it as hard as he could, sending it back out of the room. He had bought them time as more droids attempted to pour in.

"Ready!" TJ called and joined the firefight.

"Seal your suits boys!" Shadow yelled over the top of his lungs. "Hit the port wall!"

It was too late for Pynt. A lucky shot from a battle droid caught him in the throat. As the other slammed themselves into the port wall, Shadow hit the trigger on another detonator. The wall opposite of them blew outwards into the vacuum of space.

"Straight out! Evac now!"

With that order, the remaining three launched themselves out. Some of the droids were pulled out into space, not knowing what to do. Shadow checked his oxygen level. He had about a minute, and so did the others.

"Pilot, Evac, starboard side of the station, dead in space." he ordered on the commlink. He strived to remain calm. Getting too excited would use up the remaining oxygen he had left.

The light hum of their stealth Larty brought joy to Shadow's heart. The bay doors opened and trapped the SBH troopers inside, then blasted off. In relief, Shadow hit the detonator. The Station turned into debris. Their mission was completed, but it was supposed to be an easy mission. This was a test mission to see if Shadow was fit for command. He knew in his gut at the moment that he wasn't. As soon as he got to Freos, he was resigning his command role.

Shadow woke up. He was still in his prison. There was nothing he could do to escape. With his confidence broken, he hung in despair. Then Shadow stopped to think. He wasn't just fighting for himself. Shash was going to kill Jared, GT, TJ, everyone. He thought about Blake, imagining that he would never see her alive once more, and that made him angry. He was not finished yet. He was going to save them, all of them, then put an end to Shash's terror.

With his newfound energy, he scanned the room for another escape plan. He looked up. The chains were bolted into the concrete ceiling. If I could add enough force... he thought. The camera was still watching him, so he still had to be quick. He grabbed the chains and pulled himself upside down. From an awkward sitting position, he pulled himself higher, higher, and higher. After estimating that he had enough height. He shut his eyes to brace himself. Shadow let go of the chains and went into free fall until he hit the ground with full force. There was a sore bruise on his right shoulder that he landed on. The chains were still attached to him, but the other end had ripped its bolts from the ceiling.

He heard the guards coming, and got up as quickly as he could. As soon as the door opened he launched the chains forward, striking the first guard in the neck. Shadow brought the chains into a slashing motion to bring him closer. As soon as the guard hit the ground, Shadow came up to him, and snapped his neck. He heard a second guard coming so he hid behind the door. The guard came in gun first. Shadow slashed at the guard's arm, disarming him. After giving him a good left cross, he wrapped the chains around the guard's neck and came back to back with him. After securing the guards neck, he pulled forward and hard as he could until he heard a satisfying snap. The guard dropped dead. Shadow kneeled down next to the dead guards to arm himself. Click. Crap. A guard had caught him by surprise. He was doomed.

All of a sudden, the familiar sound of a Republic issue DP23 shotgun saved his life. The guard flew past Shadow from the force of a round. Shadow turned back to see his savior. A clone trooper bearing the distinguishing marks of the 501st's Torrent Company entered the room. He had a blue 17 on his left pectoral chest plate.

"Hello sir," the trooper greeted brightly. "Good to see you're still alive." the trooper pulled a vibroblade from his belt and sliced off the cuffs from the chains Shadow bore.

3more guards rushed into the room and raised their weapons.

"Down!" Shadow exclaimed. Instead of reaching for any weapon, he straightened his arm and felt a black flaming DC-17B pistol materialize in his hand. He pulled the trigger, knocking the guard down with a lethal shot to his mid torso.

This gave the trooper enough time to activate an energy shield strapped to left fore arm plate. The shield absorbed the oncoming dust rounds and the trooper returned fire with his shotgun. Within a few moments, the guards were down. The trooper collapsed the energy shield into a small rectangle on his forearm.

"What is your name soldier?" Shadow asked.

"Tested sir!" the trooper replied with a crisp salute. "All due respect sir, introductions will have to wait," he explained as he began to lead Shadow out of the building. On the main floor, there was another Torrent Company trooper waiting for them.

"Test," He called. "Response team is one minute out. Nova is leading the charge."

"Let's get the hell out of here then." Test ordered and helped Shadow get into a waiting white van outside. As soon as Test closed the doors, he banged the wall three times and the driver floored the gas pedal.

The other trooper was staring at a display on a tablet he held. Test waited for a statement from him.

"Out of range," the trooper breathed a sigh of relief. "They can't follow us now."

"Good. Take us home." Test ordered.

"Cancel that order," Shadow interrupted. "Take me straight to Beacon Academy."

Test and his squad mate looked at him, but Shadow could tell that under their helmets that they wore unorthodox faces.

"Did I say something that you did not understand?" Shadow asked impatiently.

"No sir," Test started to explain. "It's just that it may take a while, and we aren't prepped for the trip."

"Vale isn't that large of a city." Shadow stated.

"Sir, we aren't in Vale..."

"What do you mean?" Shadow was confused.

"Sir... We are in Atlas..."

"...What?"

**Hope you enjoyed the Chapter! Leave reviews at the bottom of the page! –Testedomega17**

**Chapter 21 will be released soon. A small few day break will be had then we will be back up to normal. -Frogy**


	21. Chapter 21

Another long chapter. When this was planned and we decided what we wanted to put in here, we didn't expect it to go longer than 20. There are even more things that were supposed to go in here but I fear that that would have made this chapter WAYYY too long. Oh yeah, and I've also remastered chapters 1 through five, so make sure you read them once more or something here won't make sense. -Testedomega17

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

_Atlas…_

He was in Atlas? How did he get here? Why was he brought here? Have the Nova been operating in Atlas? It would explain their disappearances. _Enough thinking. First things first. Ask questions._

"Where are we going Tested?" Shadow asked.

"You'll see sir," Tested replied, "We need to hunker down a bit. The Nova will be furious to know you are gone. No doubt they are already looking for you."

Shadow nodded.

The drive went on for a few minutes. Tested and his troopers never spoke. _Figures._ He thought. Clones weren't exactly bred for socializing. Shadow had just learned this skill over some of the missions he was put on back on Coruscant and his time in Vale. With new friends. With Blake. Finally the van came to a halt.

"All good." The driver said. He too was another 501st Torrent Company trooper.

"Everyone inside." Tested ordered as he opened the rear doors. They were in a building. An abandoned one, or so it seemed. The van had back into a small garage that led inside. It might have been meant for large cargo trucks.

Tested led Shadow up the emergency fire stairs. Shadow made notes as he went. He counted the steps, he calculated the height of the building. When they reached the top floor, he estimated the building was 4 stories high.

Tested opened the door to a room. As Shadow walked in, Tested placed his arm out to stop him. Shadow looked at him confused but Tested motioned him to wait. He whistled a six note tune, and was answered by two knocks.

"Sorry," Tested apologized as he led Shadow inside. "It's the all clear signal."

The room was medium sized, large lamps placed around the area. There were two large tables, one in the middle and another in the corner. In the middle, there was a computer and in the corner lay another 501st Torrent Company trooper. It was obvious why he hadn't come along with them. He was missing his right leg from the thigh down. The wound was covered with bloody bandages.

"Good," The wounded trooper said. "You're not dead." He lowered his DC-15A and flicked the safety on.

"How are you holding up Whix?" Tested named him.

"The usual."

Shadow scanned the room. "Quite the set-up you have here." He said sarcastically.

"We have had to move several times in a hurry," Tested explained. "Our arrival didn't go unnoticed by the 21st Nova."

"You arrived when?"

"We were given the task of looking for your team about two months after Commander Shash was sent after you. We've lost count of how long we've been here."

"Is this your whole team?"

"The remaining."

Shadow did a rough calculation in his head. Shash arrived around 3 months ago. That meant Tested and his men have been here for almost a month.

"So who are you guys?" Shadow asked.

"Sergeant Tested sir," Tested responded exactly like a cadet during training. "This is our medic Don," He pointed at the trooper who was with them in the van. "Vin," He pointed to the trooper who was driving the van. "And Whix." He motioned to the wounded trooper. "Originally we were eight strong, but our arrival was… complicated. What we ran into, was complicated."

"Where did you land on Remnant?" Shadow asked.

"We landed in the forest, about 4 clicks east of the walls." Vin stated as he removed his helmet. He was bald with a small tattoo of the Republic symbol above his right eyebrow.

"And the local animals," Whix brought up. His helmet was removed and was at his side. His hair had been cut short, aside from his short blue dyed mohawk. "Weren't so friendly." He gestured to his leg.

"Take it easy pal," Don removed his helmet. His hair had been slickly combed all the way back. "I'm gonna apply some bacta."

"I could do with another leg."

"How much gear do you have?" Shadow asked.

"Well, our CO realized he was ordered to send us on a suicide mission," Tested began to lead Shadow to another corner of the room. "So we were lucky enough to get these."

Shadow eyed their gear. They had 2 spare canisters of Tibanna gas, 3 Standard Thermal Grenades (Along with a customized one which Shadow suspected it had a much larger blast radius), a spare vibroblade, and a spare DC-15S.

"No 17M's?" Shadow asked.

"Quite frankly sir, we aren't Special Forces."

"I need to get back to Vale." Shadow stated as he picked up the spare DC-15S and inspected it.

"Like I said sir," Tested continued. "It's a bit complicated."

"I don't care."

"Excuse me sir?"

Shadow turned to face him. "My team is holed up in Vale and they are in grave danger."

"Sir, we can't exactly-"

All of a sudden, the wall closest to Shadow blew inwards, sending Tested and him flying across the room.

-Yang 3 Person POV-

Yang was quiet. She was quieter than she had ever been. She was so quiet, she was irritating Blake. Blake was just reading a book. And while she liked the silence, Yang being silent was like having an itch that you could never scratch.

Why was she silent? She had lashed out hard, nearly engaging Blake, Blake had found out her secret and her boyfriend was in danger.

The sound of a door opening broke the silence.

"We're back." Ruby announced as she and Weiss walked in.

Weiss was about to shut the door but something stopped it. Something. Yang looked. There was nothing there.

"Opps, sorry." Weiss apologized to nothing.

"Nah, it's my fault," Designer's shape began to appear. "Should've disengaged my cloak earlier. Old habits."

"What is he doing here?" Yang asked. "I thought we were keeping this between us Ruby."

"Well, me and Weiss were getting nowhere so we decided to get some help." Ruby explained.

"I don't think we need help." Blake stated.

"Well then," Ruby put her hands to her hips. It was an unusual gesture for her. "What exactly did you two find?"

Well..."

"That's what I thought."

"Point made but what exactly can he do for us?" Yang brought up.

"I'm insulted," Designer shot up. "Before I defend my pride how about you tell me what exactly you found while Ruby and Weiss were hitting warehouses!"

"Well we found out that the White Fang has been raking in money from loans," Blake started. "With this money they have been buying weapons off the black market or possibly inside sources from the Military."

Designer let out a long laugh. "Gee what spies you are," he chuckled. "And this is why I don't ask you guys for help."

"Oh yeah? What did you find?" Yang shot back.

"As a matter of fact deary," Designer smirked. "I know that the Nova and the White Fang are operating beyond Vale. I also know Shash's endgame."

"What is it?" Ruby asked.

"I'm not sure yet."

"Ha!" Yang mocked.

"At least I have something useful." Designer defended.

"All right, enough competition," Ruby ordered. "Designer is here to help us find Shadow so we should be grateful for his help."

After a few brief seconds of silence Blake asked "What's the plan?"

"All right," Designer started. "Now there is nothing we can get done at this time at night so get some rest. Meet me at the docks tomorrow morning and I'll give you your roles."

"Okay, we'll be there!" Ruby promised.

"G'night ladies." Designer said smoothly as he faded into thin air and left.

Yang was still worried about Jared. She needed to warn him. But how could she tell him without informing him about Shadow's disappearance? There was no answer.

Yang had a restless night, praying that Jared would still be alive.

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

Holy shit I'm wasted. Jared thought.

It has been a very long night. Actually, it has been a VERY eventful evening. GT and TJ were drunk as well. He could tell by the way they were moving. In fact, they were so drunk, he doubted they could even stand at attention if their CO decided to walk in on them.

The two were playing darts, showing off their amazing accuracy to the women who were there. They all knew they should be confident in their looks. Jango Fett didn't have a bad complexion. In fact he was apparently quite the looker. Of course this is only what he has heard from the missions he has been on in the lower levels of Coruscant. A drunken man disturbed his thoughts.

"Excuz meh surrr," the drunken man attempting to pronounce every syllable. "Mez n mai fendz ofa dere juzz wundring. Duh u n yore pals looken eggzactly alike, ur am weez juzz drunk?"

Jared, drunk as well, decided to play a trick.

"Nah, you're just drunk pal." Jared said sarcastically.

The man squinted hard at him before saying, "Okez den, guud morn." then walked away.

Jared almost burst into a laughter from that statement. He heard a loud cheer as GT chugged another two shots of Whiskey and tossed the dart. Unlike his other times, he hit the edge of the bulls eye. He must be reaching his limit. TJ certainly had, demonstrating with a shot a row from the center.

All of a sudden, a nice looking lady patted him in the shoulder and asked, "You wanna dance handsome? I may give you something extra if you know what I mean."

Even drunk, he managed to reply with "Sorry ma'am, I'm taken."

The lady frowned and strode back to the dance floor. Weird. That same place where she had touched him stung a little. He looked at his right shoulder and remembered what it was. Earlier on in the night, someone was offering free tattoos. Jared took advantage of the offer and got a tattoo of an emblem Yang wore to symbolize her. A yellow fiery heart. Shadow would flip if he saw this. He didn't permit the squad to receive tattoos, piercings, hair dos or hair dyes. He wanted the simple cadet haircut from all of them.

"So what's your name pal?"

Jared turned to his left and saw a man probably in his 30's. He was caucasian with black short hair and a beard. Along with that, he wore a white dress shirt and a black vest and dress pants.

"Sorry do I know you?" Jared asked.

"Possibly. The name's Junior. What's yours?" He spoke with a deep voice.

_Junior._ Jared remembered. Yang told him that he owned this club.

"I'm Jared," Jared reached out for a handshake. "Nice to meet you."

Junior looked at Jared strangely as he shook his hand.

"I've been expecting you." he said and placed a note in his hand.

Jared stared at the piece of paper. Just as he was about to ask who authored it, Junior walked away in a hurry.' Weird.' Jared read the note. It was in Mando'a, language of the Mandalorians.

_**Su cuy'gar Jared. Gar kapr kar'taylir ni ra va, a meg cuyir jaon'yc cuyir ibac Ni cuyir sur'ulur gar. Trikar'la, Ni cuyir olar at kyr'amur gar. Vaal Ni liser narir bid jiila staabi jii, Ni copaanir bathas get'shuk o'r ibic kyr'amur. A miit be bu'litr, viinir. **_

Jared had learned mando'a before this, and he was thankful for his teachings. He translated the letter in his head.

_**Hello Jared. You may know me or not, but what is important is that I am watching you. Sadly, I'm here to kill you. While I could do so immediately right now, I want some sport in this kill. A word of advice, run.**_

Jared froze instantly. He dropped the note and scanned the area ferociously. _Where are you?_

There was no one really interested in him, no one he could see. His hunter was giving him a head start. No way he was going to pass it up Quickly he dragged GT and TJ out of the club and into the car. They were too drunk to resist.

As soon he secured them, he gunned the engine. Back to Beacon. Back to a school full of warriors, hunters and huntresses. His plan was ruined by the flashing blue and red lights tailing him. Shit. Cops.

Jared had no choice but to yield. He pulled over to the side and an officer came up to his window.

"Evening Officer," Jared greeted. "Is there a problem?"

The officer looked at TJ and GT in the back seat and asked "What happened to them?"

The duo was fast asleep.

"Long night, is that all?"

"Have you had anything to drink tonight, sir?"

_Oh crap..._

"Umm..."

The officer stared at him sternly, then said "Sir, please step out of the vehicle."

_No. There was no time for this._

"But-"

"Sir, I am going to ask you once more. Please step out of the vehicle."

All of a sudden, a blue bolt tore through his head. Jared recognized the sound of the weapon too well. It was a Deece. A DC-15S he predicted. With a bang, the police squad car behind them exploded.

Jared's combat reflexes kicked in. He floored the pedal with all his might and ducked down as blue bolts whizzed past his head. He was going full speed, maneuvering past every car in front of him like the skilled pilot he is. He could only confirm that he was being chased by a Nova.

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

*Flashback*

Shadow had just finished his debriefing and had tendered his resignation for command back at Freos He would go from Sergeant back to Corporal. TJ and GT passed by him.

"You all right sir?" TJ asked.

"I'm not a sir anymore," Shadow corrected. "And I believe I should be asking GT that question."

"Just a scratch." GT replied. "I'm still combat ready."

"So you really did it?" TJ asked. "You stepped down?"

"Yes I did," Shadow replied. "This squad will be dismantled and you two will be reassigned."

"Not exactly the outcome I wished for." A voice surprised them.

The Shadow troopers snapped a crisp salute at General Mack.

"At ease," he said. "You two," he looked at GT and TJ. "Some privacy please." The two nodded and left.

"You need something sir?" Shadow asked. He rarely talked to the General since he had been brought to Freos (Other than briefings of course).

"No, you do?"

"What do you mean?"

"You and your squad will remain active."

"What?" Shadow was confused. "Sir, I have already sent my resignation-"

"And it's being rejected Lieutenant."

"Sir?" Okay, Shadow was confused before, now he felt like he had been drugged heavily.

"You heard me. I am promoting you, effective immediately." The General maintained a casual tone.

"Sir... I'd like to resign my command position."

"And your resignation is rejected once again."

"May I ask why sir?" Shadow was stunned. His Commanding Officer was prohibiting him from demotion?

"Shadow," Mack started. "You are different than most here. You have potential to become a great leader. Why the hell would you resign your position? In my opinion, you are making a stupid ass decision."

Shadow didn't respond.

Mack changed to a more sympathetic tone. "This is about the Corellian sector isn't it?"

Shadow, still with the urge to obey and answer any question or order given by his superiors, nodded his head and hung it in shame.

"I lost two men sir," Shadow stated in sorrow. "A simple snatch and demo, something I have done dozens of times by now, and I managed to lose two men."

"Shadow," Mack placed his arm on Shadow's shoulder. "It's not about what happened. It's what you did about it."

Shadow looked up at Mack.

"It was your first mission as a leader and you performed well." Mack continued. "I've seen many troopers in your position, and you know what happened to them? They froze on the spot and never lived for a debriefing. You managed to get your boys out."

"Not all of them."

"Casualties," Mack turned the conversation back in his favour. "It's the price of war. Every leader has to understand it."

"I don't," Shadow shrugged off Mack's hand. "Nor do I want to."

Just as Shadow turned to walk away, he heard Mack bark "Attention!"

Shadow whirled back towards him immediately and stood completely straight. Damn the Kaminoans and their programming. He thought.

"I see it's going to take more than words to convince you Lieutenant," Mack shook his head. "Lucky for you, I still have a few more tricks up my sleeve. Follow me."

"Where are we going sir?" Shadow asked then shook himself out of attention.

"Home."

"Sir," Shadow paused. "Isn't this home?"

Mack let out a small chuckle. "Never forget where you came from Shadow." he said as he began to lead Shadow into the direction of the hangar.

Shadow knew where they were going. They were going home. They were going back to Kamino.

Shadow's vision cleared. The wall had just come apart and Shadow saw a drop ship hovering outside. The dropship whirled back around to make another pass. The Nova had found him.

Shadow felt for his DC-15S reflexively and fired back at the drop ship. He knew he wasn't going to do anything but it was the instinct of combat. As the opening of the drop ship passed by, he saw the Nova Kill toss a metal sphere into the room.

"Take cover!" Tested warned, but Shadow ran to the thermal as fast as he could and chucked it back out of the opening as high as he could. He didn't was to harm and civilian life. The sky lit up like a flare for only a few seconds and the drop ship was at a safe distance. Once again it circled around and a rotary gun emerged just below its nose.

"Heads down!" Shadow yelled as the drop ship hailed the floor they were on with dust rounds. These shots were powerful enough to take out large elder Grimm, no way he was going to let one tag him. He sprinted across the room as the rounds plowed through the wall behind him. Finally he got to Tested who was flat on the ground and yanked his arm to active his riot energy shield. For the most part, they were protected, but the force of the rounds sent them back a few feet.

Just then, the sound of another aerial ship appeared. The Nova drop ship was firing, it was very audible at this distance, but it was firing at something else.

Shadow didn't waste time.

"Tested, pack your gear," he ordered. "We are LEAVING!"

Tested nodded his head in acknowledgement and started signaling his men.

Shadow went over to the window to see what the Nova was fighting. To his surprise, it was an Atlesian scout fighter. It made sense. This was Atlas, home to the Atlesian military. The dropship and the scout fighter were both in hover mode, engines aimed towards the ground, strafing and firing at each other. This might buy us some time.

Shadow went over to Tested's team. They were all carrying their gear. In their packs. Vin was on the computer trying to wipe all of the data on their hard drive. After he was done, he shot through the hard drive several times. It was a smart idea. Shadow had heard stories of the crazy Null ARCs and what they were capable of when it came to unearthing data. Sure, the Nova tech specialist Machine was dead, but it didn't hurt to be careful.

"No!" Shadow heard Whix cry out in pain. Don was trying to carry him. "It's no good," he clenched his teeth. "I'll only slow you down."

"We've lost half the squad already, we aren't losing you." Don said back.

"Whix, you are coming," Tested barked. "That's an order."

"One which I cannot follow sir." Whix offered Shadow his helmet. "Keep it." he said.

Tested protested once again but Shadow placed his hand on his shoulder.

"A soldier knows his time," Shadow stated grimly. "Someone hand me the custom thermal."

Vin removed it from his pack and tossed it to Shadow. Shadow walked up to Whix and placed the custom sphere in his hand and said, "Make it count trooper."

Whix cracked a thin smile and saluted.

"Let's go!" Shadow ordered and the four of them made their way to the van. Tested opened the garage door and revealed the sight of the aerial battle. Just then, the Atlesian scout fighter burst into flames and rolled into another building.

The dropship turned its attention to their building. As soon as everyone got into the van Vin started the engine.

"Wait!" Shadow said sharply.

"What is it?" Tested asked.

"Wait..."

-Kill 3rd Person POV-

That bloody son of a bitch.

Shash was going to grill him if he didn't bring Shadow back. With no more motion from inside the building, he decided to investigate, taking two armed hired hit men with him. They rappelled from the drop ship onto the top of the building and blew a hole in the roof. They all jumped in. All of a sudden, an unexpected blue bolt slammed one of the men in the chest.

Kill whirled towards his attacker. It was an injured 501st trooper armed with a DC-15A rifle. I don't bloody have time for this. He chuckled to himself. The trooper fired again, aiming at Kill this time. He easily dodged the blow.

"I never thought about whom the SC would send after us," he taunted as he dodged another round. "Nor did I think he would send you grunts."

With the second comment, a shot came really close to Kill's head. He barely dodged it this time. He had to end this.

"You're lucky I plan on taking prisoners mate," Kill scoffed as he shot the trooper's rifle out of his hand.

As soon as Kill got about one meter from him, the trooper pulled out a metallic sphere and said "I don't."

Aww shit.

Kill sprinted for the opening in the wall as a burning fire raced behind him. He leaped with all of his might out of the building and pulled out his vibroblade, jamming it into the concrete wall of a smaller building. He felt his arm go toss as he caught himself and cringed at the pain. The thermal that trooper was holding must have been custom because the building he was recently in was coming down. His hitman didn't make it, but he didn't care. Just before the building crumpled down, a white van emerged from a hidden garage and began to speed away.

Kill furiously fired a cable from his DC-15S onto his dropship and pulled himself up.

"After them!" he barked at the pilot.

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

*A few moments earlier*

The four waited in the van, already started, ready to go. All of a sudden, they heard a lound boom from the top floor and the ceiling began to crack.

Goodbye, Whix.

"Go now!" Shadow exclaimed and Vin floored the pedal.

As they turned a corner, Shadow caught a glimpse of Kill hanging from the side of a building. Damn he is still alive.

"They are following us! Vin announced.

Shadow opened the rear doors and saw the massive drop ship following them. Shadow folded back the stock on his DC-15S, something he hasn't done since his last time on Kamino. He opened fire. It was no use, the shots pinged off the hull. The drop ship began firing back. Vin swirled and shook the van intensely, the dust rounds hitting the pavement around the vehicle.

The chase continued until a few dust round pinged off the dropship. Shadow smiled. The Cavalry has arrived. Four Atlesian fighters joined the chase and began firing upon the dropship. The dropship evaded, ducked and turned, but in an agility contest, the drop ship was outmatched. All of a sudden a projectile from the drop ship openings slammed into a fighter and tore it to pieces.

"What was that?" Don asked.

A projectile came out once again and decimated another fighter.

"It doesn't matter!" Vin cried. "We're home free!"

The city walls were visible from here. Shadow looked back at the battle. The dropship had managed to get behind one of the fighters and was tearing it apart with dust rounds. With an explosion from its left engine, it began to dive down.

"Vin, slow down!" Shadow warned.

"Why?"

"Do it!"

Vin obeyed. Just before they reached the walls, the damaged Atlesian fighter descended ahead of them and turned into a fireball as it hit the pavement. It didn't stop there. Just a few meters after it touched the ground it crashed through the city walls at full speed.

Shadow looked back at the dropship and saw it strafing as the last Atlesian fighter tried to bring it down. It was then revealed what was firing the projectiles.

"What is that?" Don looked as if he were squinting under his helmet. "Is that an RPS-6 launcher?!"

Indeed it was. The RPS-6 rocket launcher was a very light, portable, shoulder fired rocket launcher. It could be used to lock onto targets, but by the way the Nova was aiming, he was using his eyesight. with another boom, the last fighter went down.

"Vin, through the wall now!" Shadow ordered.

"Through the wall?"

"Don't question me!"

Shadow knew what was going to happen next. The dropship whirled, its open side facing the van. Kill was leveling the launcher at them. Shadow quickly closed the doors and yelled, "Vin, gun it! Everyone brace yourselves!"

Several things happened in a few moments. The rocket bounced off the rear of the van into the pavement, launching it at a faster speed than it was already going, the doors blew inwards smashing Shadow in the back, as the van flipped and tumbled forwards about 9 times before it ran into a large tree and halted.

Everything was blurry. Shadow couldn't find the strength to get up. Someone grabbed him and dragged him out of the van as everything faded to black.

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

The car finally reached Beacon. Jared eyed the sky and estimated the time. It was about 3:00 a.m. from what he could tell. He scanned the darkness for danger before he stepped out. Then he hunkered beside the car and grabbed his scroll. Jared was pretty confident in his fighting capabilities, but he was drunk. That was bad enough for anyone. He first tried Shadow. No response. _Where the hell is he? He would wake up instantly if his scroll rang._ He tried Yang this time. After a few rings, she picked.

"Hello?" she yawned. She sounded annoyed. He had probably just woke her.

Just as he was about to say something, the line went dead.

"Tsk tsk." a voice slithered from the shadows. "No help this time."

Jared slowly stood up to face his opponent. He recognized the armor and the way he moved.

"Hello Detta." he greeted sourly.

"Tateyus." he spoke a different language. It was mando'a. Detta had just said _Greetings._

"What, Shash sent you to do his dirty work?" Jared teased.

"I'd watch your tongue _burc'ya_."

_Friend._

"You know Detta," Jared reached for his katana's. "You are the only Nova I have ever come to respect."

"Jate jate'kara," Good luck. "By the way, I met Shadow's and your girlfriend earlier today. They didn't put up a good fight."

What is he talking about?

Detta ejected his vibroblades from his forearm plates. His were designed so a long slightly curved blade went along his forearms going just past his knuckles.

"Ready to die, vod?" Brother.

"You are not my brother!" Jared stated as he drew his katanas and lunged at Detta.

Detta caught the blow and the two locked together. "Vode an, brothers all." he said as he diverted Jared's blades to the ground and elbowed him in the face.

Jared spun back around in a diagonal stroke following with a horizontal stroke. Detta was faster, he easily side stepped to avoid the first blow then ducked under the second. He leaped for an uppercut but Jared quickly backed up. He felt the vibration of the vibroblades tickled his chin. As soon as he regained his footing he was caught off guard by a kick to the stomach. Jared stumbled back. He decided to use his semblance. He closed his eyes and held his breath, then opened them. Sure enough Detta wasn't moving. Jared ran up to Detta at full speed and jumped into a downwards stroke. But then something happened. Jared somehow missed. Detta was nowhere in sight. How could he move faster than Jared?

All of a sudden Jared felt a sharp pain on his bottom right torso, following with a hit to the gut, a punch to the face, a kick to the back and then a crossline to the face. Jared went down. _Where was he?_ Jared released his breath and Detta appeared standing over him.

"If you plan on using your semblance ner vod, you should watch what you drink." Detta explained. He had been drugged. Detta had somehow phased his semblance.

This made matters worse. Jared rolled back to recover. Detta lunged at him, bringing his arm in an arcing motion. Jared parried the blow and swung his other katana, aiming for Detta's head. Detta ducked and came right back up. He grabbed Jared's wrists. Crap. Jared's arms were crossed. Detta connected his knee with Jared's gut three times. After the third, Jared brought his arms down to block the fourth. The block caught Detta off guard and he released his wrists. Jared swung both Katana's up in an x motion and kicked Detta back a few paces. Jared saw that Detta barely dodged the blow. His armour had thin grooves in it.

Jared was barely holding his own. What could anyone expect? He was drunk and couldn't use his semblance. He knew he couldn't do this forever. In an attempt to end the fight, he threw a right swing, then a left. He kept repeating the process, using a normal right swing following with a backhand left. He was spinning, changing the angles of his attacks each time. Detta was being forced back, blocking and parrying every blow. While it did look like Detta was going to lose, Detta is just very patient. He was no loose cannon. He was a trained assassin for Shash. As soon as Jared started getting dizzy, he got under the arc of his forearm and grabbed it. He went under the arm and twisted till Jared dropped the weapon. Jared let out a small grunt of pain as Detta's foot cracked a bone in Jared's rib cage. Jared quickly freed his right arm and threw an overhead swing. Detta had already moved and kicked Jared in the back. Jared put his remaining katana in his right arm and whirled to face Detta once again.

Jared out of anger launched a fusillade of blows at Detta. But Detta had no problem. He ducked, jumped, curled, spun, and side stepped away from Jared's blade. After several attacks it got to the point where Detta caught Jared's blade arm and reeled him close. Detta kneed him in the stomach and placed his foot against the ribs of the right side of his body. Jared roared in unbelievable pain as Detta released his arm and snapped 3 ribs. Jared was stunned. He stumbled back and fell to the ground. Detta grabbed Jared by the ring of his shirt and threw him through a window. Jared tumbled over and into two long wooden tables. His ribs felt cold and hot with pain at the same time. He spared a few moments to see where he was. He was in the school cafeteria. Detta leaped through the window.

"You done yet?" he taunted as he rotated his shoulders.

Jared gritted his teeth to forget the pain and through a low swing at Detta's leg. He easily lifted it as he stepped back. Jared got up into a crouched position as he threw a swing at Detta's torso. He deflected the blow away. Jared lunged forward and Detta deflected the blow and caught the bladed arm. He ran his vibroblade across the soft skin on the forearm and threw Jared back. Jared was back on all fours. He got on his knees to throw a right swing but Detta blocked it and kicked him back down. Jared still being persistent, got back on his knees and attempted a backhand with his left arm following with a right slash. Detta got in between the two blows and punched Jared square in the face. Detta didn't stop there. He immediately grabbed Jared's head after the punch and kneed him in the face three times then kicked him hard in the gut, sending Jared sliding back on his knees for a few feet. Jared clutched his stomach. From the warm liquid from his face, he could tell his nose was bleeding and he was coughing up blood.

He looked up painfully at Detta who was slowly striding towards Jared.

No. He thought. I'm not going to die like this.

Summoning what energy he had left, he made one last charge at Detta. Detta slammed his wrist blades into Jared's swing, disarming him.

The sudden attack caused Jared to lose balance. He stumbled forward as Detta's right wrist blade extended and entered Jared's abdomen. Jared gasped.

"Don't struggle," Detta spoke softly. "It's over." Jared weakened and rested his head on Detta's shoulder. "There was never any doubt in the outcome, ner vod." Detta twisted the blade and dug it deep into Jared's torso. Jared let out a small, high-pitched yelp from the pain.

After a few seconds, Detta released him and Jared dropped to his knees. He slowly hunkered down as his blood began to exit his wound. Detta was right. It was over. It was his time. He never got to say goodbye to Yang. And to think this was the week that she wanted space from him. He thought about Shadow, TJ and GT. What would they do without him? Who would keep Shadow's rage in check? Detta began to pray in mando'a.

"Ijaa kaysh par kaysh ganar akaanir pirusti," '_Honor him for he has fought well,'_ "Sarnu'a bal digur hiibir va kaysh gotal'ur,"_ 'Forgive and forget the mistakes he's made,'_ "Cabuor kaysh teh se'u'anr be hrabe," '_Protect him from the punishment of the grave,'_ "Bal mersa'ya be tracyn," '_And the torment of the fire,'_ Detta brought his blade up for the finishing blow. "Vode an." _'Brothers all.'_

_Sorry Yang._

All of a sudden, a blue dust round tagged Detta in the shoulder. He stumbled back. Jared turned slowly to see TJ aiming his DC-17B at Detta.

"Next one goes for your head, Detta." TJ threatened. GT came behind him and unsheathed his sword.

Detta, still clutching his shoulder, said, "Jared, you are one lucky son of a gun." Then Detta hit a button on his wrist and the ceiling exploded. The sight of a White Fang bullhead dropship came into view from it, another Nova tossed a line down for Detta and began firing on TJ and GT. Jared rolled slowly into cover. In a few moments, the drop ship took off with the two Nova.

TJ came up to Jared as quickly as possible.

"Jared! Are you all right?" he exclaimed.

"I've been better," Jared replied as he coughed out more blood. "Nice threat back there, but you could have just shot him in the head. You know, one less Nova to deal with."

"I was aiming for his head," TJ blushed. "I'm really drunk because..." TJ pointed in Jared's general direction. "There are literally two of you."

Jared let out a light chuckle but couldn't hold it long due to the more blood coming from his mouth. All of a sudden, everything started moving. The broken tabled began to repair, the glass reforming, and the ceiling returning. The trio looked to the door to find Glenda Goodwitch standing there.

"What just happened here?" She scolded furiously. "You aren't allowed to be here. Don't even forget the fact you damaged school property. You three have a lot of explaining to do-"

Her expression quickly changed to a gasp when her eyes landed on Jared.

"Sorry," Jared started. "It's a very long-" Jared cough once again, but this time everything went blurry. Really blurry. "-story." he managed to finish before passing out.

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

*Flashback*

Kamino. It's where all clones came from. Shadow never thought he'd come back here. He didn't know why Mack brought him. The General was probably trying to teach him something. Shadow didn't see the point. He knew he wasn't fit for command. What does Mack see in me?

"Helmet on Shadow," Mack broke his train of thought. "You have to look professional here."

Shadow did as he was told. Mack led him out of the Kamino hanger with two other SBH. Memories of Shadow's time as a cadet flowed through his mind. From classroom learning to target practice and even combat simulations.

"Where do we go sir?" one of the other SBH asked.

"Go where you like, observe," Mack replied. "We are recruiting. I'm going to advise the training officers. See if you all can find worthy candidates." Mack continued forward while the SBH split down different corridors.

Really, Shadow thought to himself. Mack chose me for recruitment?

Using his free time, he decided to head over to the citadel challenge, the hardest simulation on Kamino. Funny enough, Shadow didn't have to do it. SBH recruited him before he got to that stage. He watched about three squads run through it. He noticed CT-6809 (he had asked a trainer for the CT) was an exceptional soldier. He was quick and smart, easily leading his squad through.

Finally a fourth squad came. Boy it was a mess. Shadow knew they were capable troopers, but they struggled hard. The five man squad moved to the center of the map and the towers rained down heavy fire on them. Curious, Shadow decided to listen in on their helmet comms. He tuned into the right frequency and the battle below him came to life.

"Cover! Cover!"

"Tiu covering!" Tiu said as he began firing away at one of the towers.

"Dre, Hon, flank now!"

"Roger Kada!" Dre and Hon replied in unison as thr moved to a different set of cover.

"Whoa!" Kada exclaimed as his teammate took out a sim droid a foot away from him. "Jared watch your fire!"

"Ah don't get your armor in a bunch, I had that!" the squadmate Jared replied.

"Guys! Do we flank now or what?" Hon asked.

"Not till that tower is down." Tiu stated as a fusillade of round impacted his set of cover.

"I got it!" Jared sighed as he got up and fired a clean shot at the tower gunner.

"Jared get back to cover!" Kada ordered.

"What?" Jared said completely exposed as he tagged another droid. "Why? We should keep going." Jared almost blindly downed two targets.

"Jared rear!"

Jared spun casually and fired three shots at a newly appeared sim droid.

"I got this." Jared shrugged. Shadow knew that he was being really cocky. This attitude will get him killed in a real battle.

"Gah!" a trooper went down.

"Hon's down! Cover shield!" Dre called.

"God damn it." Jared cursed as he took out the last tower guard in two shots.

For the most part Shadow was pretty impressed in Jared's skills. But his cocky attitude had to be taken care of. He took a few notes on his datapad and headed to another section of the facility.

Shadow woke up under the dense canopy of trees. His entire body ached. Slowly he began to remember what happened. When he remembered the Kill was chasing them , he jolted up immediately only to have the reassuring hand of Tested grab him by the shoulder. Tested was in a crouched position pointing up at the sky. Shadow listened and heard the rumble of the bullhead dropship. He couldn't see the dropship due to the trees, but it was loud enough that he knew it was there. As soon as the noise faded, Shadow got up.

"Good to have you back, sir." Tested remarked.

"I feel like crap." Shadow replied as he rubbed his torso.

"Well, you did have quite a tumble around in the van."

"What happened to the van?"

"Totalled. The rest of us were strapped in, you weren't."

"Well," Shadow said as he cracked his neck. "That's one way to test my durability."

"We have two options sir," Tested handed Shadow the spare DC-15S. "We could circle back to the city, or we could somehow find a way to Vale. I recommend the first option."

"Your opinion is noted. Let's start moving."

"To where sir?"

"It doesn't matter, if we stay in one place, we're dead men."

Tested looked as if he said something. He probably locked out his helmet speakers because soon after, Don and Vin appeared.

The four moved across the forest. Shadow used the sun as a direction marker to where he was going. He knew where he was going. He was going to Vale. That meant he had to go south. Every few minutes, the bullhead drop ship would return and they would duck down, only for it to circle back towards the city.

"Can they track us?" Don asked. "I mean with sensors or something?"

"Haven't been in one of those things." Tested replied.

"Look at it this way," Shadow sighed. "If they could track our heat signatures, or scan for life forms, why would they be circling around for hours?"

Few more hours passed with no sign of the bullhead drop ship.

"Wait," Shadow stopped the group. "Where did they go?"

The other three troopers looked up.

"Yeah where did they go?" Vin asked.

"You think they gave up?" Don suggested.

"If you think that Shash's Nova will give up that easily, you are in for an education." Shadow stated. He even cupped his ears to listen for the rumbling sound of that drop ship. _Where are you Kill? What are you up to?_ "All right, set up camp here. Tested, with me."

"Here you go sir." Tested offered Shadow a ration bar.

"Not hungry."

"All due respect sir, you haven't eaten in about seven hours. Just one bar will fill you up for almost a day."

Shadow sighed as he took the offer.

"So where are we going sir?" Tested asked.

"Up the tree." Shadow replied as he jumped to grab a branch and pull himself up. Tested followed suit.

The two reached the top in a few seconds.

"Tested, you have any scopes?"

"Yes sir." Tested handed Shadow his macrobinoculars.

Shadow was glad that the company that designed them was smart enough to add a night vision setting. He scanned the landscape. _Nothing. Wait._ He saw the bullhead drop ship. It wasn't moving, but rather hovering in one spot. Shadow estimated it was about half a click North of their position. It was low, almost hidden by the tall trees.

"Found 'em," Shadow spoke grimly and handed Tested the binoculars. "5 degrees right off North, just skimming above the treeline."

Tested levelled the binoculars in the directions Shadow provided. "What are they doing there? Camping out?"

"I don't think so."

"Well, those creatures do come out a lot at night."

"Hm? Oh Grimm?"

"Yeah."

"Something tells me Grimm won't stop a Nova."

Shadow thought for a few moments. _What was Kill up to? He couldn't find them with sensors? What has Shadow missed?_ Shadow cussed at the sudden realization of something he'd forgotten.

"Oh shit, shit shit shit!"

"What is it sir?"

"We've forgotten to do something, basic training, stealth missions 101."

Tested just stared at him, but Shadow could tell that he had a blank face under his helmet.

"We didn't cover our tracks, we left a trail for them!"

"Oh no, the boys!"

"Down the tree! Let's move!"

-Kill 3rd Person POV-

_Heh, stupid, stupid Shadow. He has just left a path for me, straight through the forest._

Kill enjoyed hunting. He was great at it. In fact he was the best at it on his team. It didn't matter where he was, the city, the country, the desert, a forest. If anyone could sniff out their prey, so could he. He had his helmet speakers locked out and his night vision settings on his helmet turned up. Slowly, he followed the tracks as they led to some iridescent chatter and some low rudimentary lighting. This was just too easy for Kill. They might as well should've just lit themselves on fire and screamed 'we're over here!'. It would've been more entertaining. He slowly unclipped his DC-15S blaster from his belt and silently folded back the stock. He rested it against his shoulder and slowly advanced into a bush.

_There._

Kill saw them. Two 501st Torrent Company troopers had settled in between two trees. One had their DC-15S clipped to their belt and the other rested his DC-15A against a tree. They were both eating ration bars and talking about some battle they've been in. It didn't matter. They were both dead anyway.

Kill levelled his weapon. He didn't need the targeting system on his HUD for a shot this close. He practiced aiming from target to target. He needed to do this quickly before either Shadow was near them or if the other took cover. Finally he was ready. He lined up his targets, placed his finger on the trigger...

_BLAM!_

Kill's night vision scope went wonky and his helmet systems were malfunctioning. He stumbled back, not remembering whether he pulled the trigger. Giving up on his systems he deactivated his HUD, looking through a plain visor.

_Whizz!_

A bolt flew passed his head. He could hear shouting. _"Run!", "Run!"_. It sounded like Shadow. Knowing he had been spotted, he dived to the left behind a tree. After waiting till they left, Kill slipped off his helmet and pulled out a tactical light from his belt. His helmet had a melting scar running from where his left cheek would be all the way through the left side of his helmet. Shadow barely missed him. He pulled out tweezers from his belt and fixed up the wiring, then slipped his helmet back on. He blinked twice to activate his HUD. There, back to normal. Kill reactivated his previous settings and carried on with his hunt. All of a sudden, he received a call from his dropship.

"What?!" he answered in annoyance.

"Sir," one on of his hired men spoke. "Commander Shashank is contacting you."

"Tell him I'm busy." Kill hated it when his hunts were interrupted and Shash knows this.

"He says it's urgent and he wants to talk with you immediately."

Kill sighed in frustration. "Fine, circle here, pick me up."

The drop ship arrived in around 10 minutes. One of his hitmen lowered a rope for Kill. He climbed it.

"All right, put him through!" Kill ordered as he closed the side doors.

A holographic projection appeared in front of Kill. It was Shash.

"One job," Shash was configuring the settings of his DC-17M. "I gave you one job, and fucked up even then."

"I'm rather busy sir." Kill gritted his teeth.

"You will listen when I speak!" Shash stated flatly.

Kill shut up immediately and stood at attention.

"So from what I have heard, Shadow has escaped your grasp. Is this true? Because you don't know what punishments will await you if he escaped on his own."

"He didn't escape alone sir." Kill defended.

"Oh," Shash's disappointment slid to a more understanding perspective. "How did the other SBH find him?"

"They didn't sir..."

"Designer?"

"Not him as well..."

"Well it isn't any one from team RWBY because I know exactly where those four are. So who was it?"

"It was," Kill paused to gulp lightly. "3 501st Torrent Company troopers..."

Shash paused to comprehend whether he heard that right or not. "Are you telling me, that those grunts managed to rescue Shadow from you?!"

"They are Torrent Company sir.."

"Oh! _Torrent Company!_ '_Elite_' clones managed to make a company, so special!" Shash slammed his 17M onto a desk. That's a fucking piece of shit excuse you lazy british ass!"

"Don't worry sir; I'm in the midst of tracking them."

"Bring them back Kill," Shash spoke in silent anger after taking a deep breath. "Or else..." Shash finished his warning with flicking off the safety switch on his weapon and his hologram disappeared.

Kill stood in a few moments of silence, till one of his hitmen spoke.

"Sir, we can't track them in the dark."

Immediately, Kill brought his DC-15S up to the hitman's face and embedded a smoking hole. The man dropped dead.

"Continue patrol." Kill ordered furiously.

He was going to find Shadow or it would be the end of him.

-Tested 3rd Person POV-

_Run! Run! Run!_

Tested and Shadow had just saved Don and Vin from certain doom. As soon as they returned to their position, Shadow immediately saw Kill through the bushes. Tested was surprised, he didn't see a thing in the dark. Shadow used no night vision. Just his plain eyes. _I guess it makes sense. Shadow Troopers like the dark. Their called Shadow Troopers for a reason._ Now they were running. All of them.

"Stop!" Shadow halted the group.

"What is it sir?" Tested asked.

Shadow seemed disturbed. He was constantly looking around, scanning the brush. He was slightly startled, in a focused kind of way.

"Back up, over here." Shadow ordered. He led the group back the direction they came then paused again. "This way." He motioned the group in a different direction.

_What the hell is he doing?_

Finally he stopped. "Too late," he said. "We're surrounded."

"What?" Don asked.

"By who?" Vin followed up the question.

"Ready your weapons." Shadow replied sternly.

Tested did as he was told. _What the hell do you see Shadow?_ He activated his energy shield to give off some light and prepared for combat. Tested didn't see anything for a few seconds, until red light appeared. No, not lights. Red eyes. Eyes full of anger. Red, beady, angry eyes that glowed in the dark. _Oh no._ It was them. Those monsters, those horrible monsters.

"Grimm." Shadow announced.

*Flashback*

"Cal, sitrep." Tested ordered.

Tested had been assigned orders to investigate the disappearance of two squads. An SBH squad lead by Marshal Commander CC-1946-86, nicknamed 'Shadow', and the 21st Nova ARCs lead by Commander ARC-1237, nicknamed 'Shashank'. The Special Operations Brigade was busy and didn't want to spare anymore valuable assets. Due to the fact that the 501st legion was the closest army to investigate, Commander Appo was forced to send a few of his best men. He chose 8 members of Torrent Company, led by Tested.

The two squads had been missing for months. The Special Operations Commanders gave the Nova some time before they assumed the worse. Sometimes those boys went a bit off task. But one month is where they draw the line. Tested had been informed that him and his men were the last amount of troopers the Supreme Commander would spend on this mission. If he went missing, the mission would be declared unsafe, and all missing troopers would be marked off as KIA. Tested was a tad bit furious. He had spent many years of his service on the battlefield, not some escapade. This was a mission for the Special Operations Brigade. Big deal, two squads went missing, send another. In fact, if they think it is so dangerous, why don't they just send those crazy Null ARCs. They ARE the BEST of the BEST, not to mention they are only spent on covert ops and data retrieval missions. Tested and his men were soldiers meant for fighting, not a search and rescue team. Regardless, Tested was loyal. He would follow almost every order given to him by his superiors.

The troopers touched down on an unknown planet not found on any star charts. For escort, they had a normal LAAT retrofitted for space travel. They had travelled across a barren rocky wasteland for 2 hours and found where the SBH transmitted their last signal. Oh they were here all right. At the entrance to a small cave, the burnt carcasses of republic insurgents were lying around. The Separatists are dead. These insurgents are just pests. They are organized, Tested gave them that.

"Sir," Cal replied. "It seems that the insurgents were studying something. Something deeper within the cave." Cal was the team technician.

Tested signalled their pilot. "Pilot, we are clear, area secure. Circle back here so you can drop our examination equipment. We are going to investigate the cave."

"Roger that sir." The pilot replied.

"Alright boys, tight formation," Tested activated his energy shield and levelled his DP23 shotgun. While Tested would normally use a standard heavy metal riot shield, this energy shield was a gift from his Commander, specifically for this mission. Appo must have known he was sending 8 men to their doom. Either way, Tested appreciated the gift. It was very light, easily portable, and a lot stronger. "We're going in." He stated as he took point.

His squad, sure enough, formed around him. They knew what they were doing, they were full fledged Veterans. They've served with Tested for a long time. There was Cal, Don, Whix, Sabre, Jag, Vin and Have. Don was the squad medic, Have was the sniper, and Whix was their demolitions expert.

They slowly ventured down the cave, finding more carcasses of insurgents. There was blaster scoring along the walls, even a downed E-Web gunner. Finally they reached the main cavern. It had double the amount of guards who were in the rest of the cave, along with a bunch of dead technicians. The troopers cleared the whole room, yelling _'clear!'_ every time a section of the room was checked. There it was, in the center of the room. The artifact the SBH were sent to retrieve. It glowed red, white, black and yellow. It was beautiful, putting Tested in a bit of a phase. Finally he snapped out of it and went back into Sergeant mode.

"Cal, tell me what the insurgents were doing?" he ordered.

Cal walked up to the data screens next to the artifact. He explained that they were broadcasting energy signatures into the artifact. The insurgents were trying to see if they could use it as a power source.

"The SBH were certainly busy." Jag commented as he kicked over a dead body.

"Any signs of them?" Tested asked.

"Other than garbage," Sabre said as he picked up an empty DC-17M clip. "No signs."

"Even the footprints," Don piped in. "Republic standard bootprints gather about 2 meters, presumably after the conflict, and one goes in the direction of the artifact."

"You know," Whix started up a joke. "When they said Shadow Troopers were could disappear like ghosts,, I'm pretty sure this isn't what they meant."

Tested ignored the joke. He remained on task. "Picking up any radiation spikes, ion charges, anything?" he asked Sabre who was holding his datapad.

"What, you think they were vapourized?" Vin questioned.

"By the artifact, yes. After all, the insurgents were running tests on it."

"no sir, Sabre answered. "Nothing that would indicate any form of vapourization. Besides, at this range, it probably would have taken the instruments and bodies with it."

"You think they retraced their footsteps on the way out and their ride got shot down?" Don suggested.

"Their would be no point in retracing their steps. And their stealth LAAT returned to base," Have corrected. "Tested is right, maybe the artifact did something."

"Okay," Vin started. "So the artifact didn't kill them, melt them, or vaporise them. So what did it do?"

The 8 of them thought for a few seconds until Jag got it.

"It transported them?" he said.

"Yes!" Cal pointed in acknowledgement. "Maybe the artifact is actually a teleporter!"

"Teleporter to where?" Whix asked.

"We don't-" Tested spoke but was cut off when the artifact started glowing. "-know..."

Tested didn't know what was happening. The artifact had him in some sort of phase. It kept calling to him, nudging him, whispering to him.

_Come here, come closer. Your friends need your help._

"Help?" Tested spoke out loud. Others stared at him.

"You all right sir?" Don asked.

"Sir, can you hear us?" Vin piped in.

Tested could hear them, and he tried to respond, but the temptation from the artifact was too strong. The closer Tested got, the stronger it's call was. He could feel it's energy, and images began to appear in his mind. It was conflict. He couldn't tell who they were though. A man wielding black fire? A man desperate to kill the other? The voice spoke once more as the images cleared.

_Save the Black Knights. _

There he saw them. The men, the two squads, Nova and SBH locked in combat. One attempting to save the world, the other trying to conquer it.

"Sir!" Tested heard Whix call.

"I found them." Tested stated.

"What?"

"I found them."

"Found who?" Have questioned.

"SBH and the Nova."

"Where are they?"

"Tested raised his right arm. "They are right," Tested brought his hand to the artifact. "-Here"

As soon as he touched it, a loud shrieking noised passed over the room and everything faded to black.

Tested woke up in a forest. An unknown forest. It reminding him of the dense forests of Naboo. How did he get here? He got up, surrounded by his squadmates.

"Squad report!" Tested barked as he checked his equipment. "Talk to me!" One by one, they all replied.

"Don okay!"

"Vin okay!

"Jag okay!"

"Have, alive and well!"

"Whix, ready to roll!"

"Cal okay!"

"Sabre, sharp as ever."

"Good," Tested and his squad were all right. "Cal, sitrep. Have, get up high and secure our position. Vin, Jag, clear the area within 10 yds."

"Yes sir!" all the troopers replied in unison.

Tested walked over to Sabre, who had his datapad out.

"Sabre, where the hell are we?" Tested asked.

"Not sure," Sabre's expression was hidden by his helmet, but it was obvious he was frowning due to the way he was pecking at the settings. "I'd say Naboo, but it's a bit colder than it should be."

"Is it possible that we are on the northern region of Naboo?"

"Eh, impossible to tell without long range scanners."

"Cal?"

"Not a clue." Cal replied as he started scanning the soil.

"I'm no expert, Whix stated. "But I'm pretty sure those aren't native to Naboo." Whix motioned to a very small creature the size of a Nuna. It was small, grey and fluffy. It had two long ears, buck teeth, whiskers and a bushy tail. It actually looked rather cute, but Whix was right, those were not native to Naboo or any planet Tested knew about.

"Have, how are the skies looking?"

"Crystal clear actually," Have called down from a tree. "Lots of trees, and..." Have paused.

"And?"

"From what I see from my scopes, Civilization, about 30 clicks North."

"Copy, keep your eyes out, if any aerial vehicles pass by, signal for help."

"What if they don't see me?"

"I'm pretty sure they'll notice a man in white armor waving from the trees." Tested shook his head.

"Sir," Vin spoke as he and Jag returned. "We're good, but we have movement in the bushes further out."

"Hostile?"

"Unknown sir."

"Understood. Are they headed this way?"

"Possibly."

"All right. Tell Whix and Don to stay alert, I'm going to go see if Sabre and Cal worked anything out."

"Yes sir." Vin and Jag did as they were told.

"Cal, talk to me."

"I don't know what to tell you sir," Cal shook his head in disappointment. Tested knew it irritated him when he didn't have an answer. "Normal soil, normal trees, normal sky, normal air, no proper way to ID this place."

"That's fine Cal," Tested patted his shoulder. "Pack up, we are going to move out."

"Contact!" someone screamed.

Tested whirled, weapon at the ready. The troopers already followed suit. Emerging from the bushes, a mixture of a wolf, able to stand upright like a man, had a skull mask over its face with its beady red eyes shining through. It let out an aggressive roar as more followed.

"Pull back," Tested ordered. "Don't fire till they expose themselves."

"I'm pretty sure those aren't native to Naboo either." Whix nudged Tested.

More of those creatures emerged from the forest. They numbered in about 13-16 from what Tested saw. There could be more that were hidden.

"Targets from the rear!" Don warned.

"Tighten our flank!" Tested ordered. _They're trying to flank us. Maybe a bit of blaster fire will scare 'em off._ "Open fire!"

The eight of them opened fire upon the creatures, firing at all sides. The tibanna rounds seemed to be working, but the creatures weren't giving up. They charged their position. Tested quickly knocked down the lead, the force of the DP23's 8 round burst knocking it back. Immediately, it recovered for a second charge. _Did that even harm it?_ Tested waited this time until the creature got exceptionally close before putting another round, almost separating his upper and lower torso. The troopers were dealing out damage, but the creatures took the shots like it was nothing. Combat speech between each other went around.

"Cal, watch your left!" Don warned as a creature got close. Cal responded with a head shot.

"Concentrate fire!"

"Have, some cover fire if you please?"

"Hold on to your buckets!"

The six automatic shots of a DC-15X sniper dropped six creatures. Have was certainly on his game today. _Good._

Tested's thoughts allowed a creature to get close. Caught off guard, he managed to still activate his shield. The creature pounced on him. As soon as Tested hit the ground, he swung his shield to the left, knocking the creature off. He finished it off with a round to it's upper chest. This wasn't working, they were going to get overrun.

"Have, cover a retreat!" He called out. "Squad, prep to move!"

"Gimme a sec Sarge, reloading!" Have replied.

"Fire when ready! Squad, move out now! Due North!"

The squad headed in that direction, the lead members, Whix, Vin, and Jag concentrating their fire forwards to clear a path from the creatures. Tested pulled up the rear, waiting for Have to slide down the tree before joining their teammates. They ran for about 40 seconds until Jag halted in front of a large bear-like looking creature. Like the wolf-like ones, it had a white 'mask' (or so it seemed to be a mask).

"Oh, Skrag." Tested heard Jag muttur before the creature threw a heavy slash, knocking him to the ground.

"Take it down!" Tested ordered. He didn't need to. It was obvious. But it was the instinct of combat that pulled the words out of his mouth.

The squad opened fire on the creature. It let out a large roar and slashed at Vin, knocking him into a tree. A few moments later, it toppled backwards and died. Tested went over to assist Vin. On his way, he saw Don on the corner of his eye already tending to Jag.

"Vin, you okay?" Tested asked.

"Man, that thing packs a whallop." Vin coughed as Tested helped him to his feet.

"Helmet off."

Vin did as he was told. _No bleeding. That's a good sign._

"How many fingers am I holding?" Tested checked for dizziness.

"Two. Don't worry, it's not blurry."

_Good, no concussion._

"Can you walk?"

Vin stumbled at the first few steps, then walked completely normal.

"Just a bit banged up from the hit," he explained. "Probably some minimal bruising, but the armor protected me."

Tested patted his shoulder then went to check on Jag. Jag was flat on his back, lying down in an awkward position. Don was kneeling beside him checking his pulse. He looked up at Tested and shook his head._ Damn._ Tested nodded at Don to list him KIA.

"How's Vin looking?" Don said as he got up.

"Just a bit banged up. Nothing serious."

"Oh, I'll check him just in case."

"He's fine." Tested reassured with a pat to his shoulder. Don took a deep breath and nodded. "Whix, can you grab any important gear Jag was carrying?"

"Really?" Whix stared at Tested.

"What?"

"Your first thought is equipment?" Whix scolded. Tested could tell that was frowning in disbelief.

"Look," Tested started. "Something tells me we might be here for a while, and even though we are headed for civilization, we might have some nasty turns in our journey. I don't want to take the risk that we all might starve or run out of ammo."

Whix just scoffed and obeyed Tested's orders. Tested knew he was angry, and he didn't blame him. But he had to focus on keeping the squad alive. _I'm just as sad as you are about Jag, Whix. But that's not the priority right now._ Tested just followed his training in the main protocols for being stranded. Find civilization and survive long enough to report your position to command. If they couldn't find civilization, they were to just sit tight and wait.

"Squad, move out." Tested ordered. He looked down at Jag just before leaving. _Sorry pal._

The team ran into more of the wolf-like creatures along their hike. They were in small packs, nothing like the amount they first encountered. After 30 minutes, they came upon a small ravine. Tested looked down. He estimated about a 40 ft. drop into a river. The other side was about 25 ft away with more trees at the end. He checked his portable compass. They were still heading North. Good.

"Whix, Vin, ascension cables." Tested ordered. Their DC-15As were more suited for the cable attachments. The two lined up on the edge of the small cliff. "Target the thick trees."

_Bsssssssk! Vwip!_

The cables hit their marks. Whix and Vin slowly released some slack as they walked backwards and went around a tree before pulling the line toss. They detached the cable launcher and drilled it into the ground. _Stable._

"All right, two at a time. Have, hardscope the path forward. We don't want surprises."

Have gave a small salute before going into a crouched position and aimed down the other side of the ravine. Vin and Don went first, attaching a steel grip to the cable and sliding themselves upside down._ Always get the medic and the wounded to safety first._ After, Whix and Cal went. Tested noticed Whix's pack was bursting with equipment. A grenade was sliding out (Not a thermal).

"Whix, check your equipment!"

Too late. The grenade fell out and exploded as it hit the river.

"Well that's a drop…" Whix joked in fear.

"Secure your equipment next time!"

"Sir yes sir." Whix trembled.

Tested was about to go next, but was interrupted by Sabre.

"Contact!" He yelled.

Tested whirled instantly. He blindly pulled the trigger of his shotgun. He was lucky enough to take down a wolf-like creature that had gotten so close to him, he could he the inside of its mouth all the way to its throat in full detail. The three of them opened fire into the trees. There were about 10 of them.

"Other side, don't fire or you'll risk hitting the cables." Tested barked, anticipating their will to help.

After all 10 of them were downed, a different creature began to follow from the rear. Tested squinted into the brush. _What the hell is that?_

"Uh… sir…" Have stammered. He was looking through his scope. "We may have a problem."

Tested waited for a few moments to catch a full sight of it. It was massive, knocking down all the trees in it's path. Finally, Tested got a full view and he wished he hadn't. It was a large scorpion-like creature with those white "masks".

"Fire!"

The three of them opened fire in vain. The creature just got closer and closer, letting out a low growl. The blue bolts did nothing to harm it.

"Have, go!" Tested ordered.

"What about-"

"We're coming, just go!"

Have immediately got on the line and started moving.

"Keep him busy!" Tested knelt down to reach for something in his pack.

"With what?!" Sabre exclaimed. "I'm only tickling him!"

The creature got closer and closer. _C'mon, where are you? THERE!_ Tested found a Thermal Grenade and set the charge to maximum.

"Down!" he yelled before chucking it as hard as he could towards the creature. The force of the blast knocked Tested and Sabre back. Tested slid and slid, catching himself just before he went off the edge. _Phew._

He looked up and saw Sabre offering him a hand. Tested took it and looked in the direction of the explosion. _Dead._ He was about to attach his steel grip to the cable when suddenly he heard his squadmates on the other side screaming and pointing at him. No, they weren't pointing at him. They were pointing BEHIND him. Tested and Sabre whirled back around quickly. _Oh crap._ Two scorpion-like creatures were coming this time.

"Across the ravine, now!" Tested muttered sharply to Sabre.

Tested slung his shotgun and Sabre clipped his DC-15S to his belt. They both attached their grips to the line and started sliding across as fast as they could, desperately trying to beat the creatures. They were ¾ of the way there and Tested stopped to look back. The creatures only growled in anger. _Suck it._ Tested thought to himself. His relief was short-lived when the creatures turned their attention to the cables. Tested went pale.

"Move! Now!"

Tested and Sabre were sliding faster than before. He could hear the metal cable scraping off bits of his plastoid armor.

_Crige!_

_Oh no!_

Tested kept going. _Not my cable?_ He turned left. Sabre's cable began to shake.

"Sir?" He spoke in terror.

"Sabre, move!"

"I can't-" _Snap!_ "-Gah!"

"Sabre!" Tested reached out to grab him, but was too late. Sabre found out the hard way that what he felt into wasn't a river. It was a stream about a foot high. It did nothing for his fall.

_Cringe!_

Tested's cable began to shake. He looked back. The scorpion-like creatures were now playing with his cable.

"Hurry sir!" Don called.

Tested kept sliding. He was almost there.

_Snap!_

Just before he fell, he gave one last pull and threw himself forward. With luck he managed to land his upper body on the other cliff. _Uh oh._ Tested began to slide off. He flailed his arms forward, reaching for the rope that wasn't there. Whix managed to grab his arm before Tested fell to his doom. Slowly, the other troopers helped him up.

"Sabre's gone." Tested stated grimly.

"Yeah, we saw," Whix replied. "Would you like me to fetch his _equipment,_ sir?" he teased with a hint of anger in his voice.

"Drop it Whix!" was all Tested had to say to get him to shut up. "We need to keep moving." Tested nodded to Don who was already one step ahead of him, listing Sabre as KIA. _This was not a good day at all._

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

*Flashback*

Shadow, after a long walk around the Kamino training facility, made his way back to General Mack. The other SBH who came with him were already there.

"So," Mack began. "I've already talked to the officers. Did you three see anyone you like?"

"Got a few candidates on my datapad sir," one SBH replied. "I'll transfer to you."

"And you?" he asked the other SBH trooper.

"Negative sir. No one exceptional in the areas I was in."

Mack turned to Shadow. "And you?"

Shadow without a doubt said "CT-6809 sir. He is highly skilled and is a born leader." Shadow thought about Jared, but he didn't completely feel perfect about him yet. Although, Shadow had this nudgy part of him saying, Take him, train him. "Sir," Shadow interrupted Mack as he was about to speak. "Will we be running the forest simulation again."

"Yes we are, Shadow." Mack chuckled.

"Permission to check out the cadet barracks sir?"

"Granted."

Shadow went on his way. The barracks were larger and brighter than he remembered. He had gotten so used to the darker greyer and smaller barracks back at Freos. He turned the contrast settings on his HUD all the way down. He was practically wearing sunglasses. Shadow's time in the darkness has given him some sort of sensibility to light. Shadow heard voices as he walked. The cadets were commenting about him.

"Hey, it's a blackie." one muttered in awe.

"Shit man."

"Those guys get the 17M's."

"Do you think those armor plates actually reflect to give off a cloak?"

"Wonder how they train."

Shadow finally saw who he was looking for. Jared's squad. They were prepping for the simulation.

"Guys," Jared spoke. "Don't worry about me, worry about the objective. I can keep myself in one piece.".

"Jared, if you go down, you'll cost us the simulation." Hon shook his head.

"Alright, well who went down at the Citadel?" Jared shot back.

"Not the point."

"Hon, every time we have a man down, you are always one of them. I don't even know why we call you Hon. We should just call you carcass at this rate."

Hon threw a punch and Jared deflected it into a locker.

"Whoa, calm down!" Dre exclaimed.

Hon didn't listen. He threw punch after punch, Jared deflected three more before countering with an uppercut. Hon still didn't stop, but Jared seemed to be enjoying this, holding a light smirk on his face the whole fight. Soon, the other cadets started to join in, dividing into Jared's side and Hon's side. That's where Shadow drew the line.

Shadow made his way to them, focused on Jared. He seemed to be the focus, and he was the one dishing out the most pain. As soon as Shadow got close enough the do anything, Jared reacted to the footsteps behind him. He blindly elbowed Shadow in the face. Shadow stumbled back as the fight continued. He almost snapped into full rage. He calmed down, slowed his breathing. Then he walked up to Jared again. When Jared blindly threw a punch at Shadow, Shadow caught his fist, grabbed the back of Jared's head and slammed him face first into a locker at full force. If Shadow had done that to any normal human, they would have died, but he knew that clones were built to be tough. Still, Jared was stunned and collapsed to the floor. Immediately after he fell, the fight ceased. The cadets stood at attention in terror.

"Sorry sir." they spoke in unison.

Shadow spoke in a commanding voice that he never thought he had. "I don't want to see this happen EVER again! Understood?"

"Sir yes sir!"

_Heh,_ Shadow thought to himself. _I must have sounded like my old drill Sergeant._ He chuckled.

"Leave us." he ordered the cadets, leaving Jared on the floor rubbing his forehead. Shadow may have underestimated his strength, noticing the large lump that Jared was clutching.

"Ah, j-j-jeez man," Jared stuttered. "That's taking it too-" Jared paused when he realized he was speaking to an SBH. "-far…"

"Stand up Cadet."

"Yes sir!" Jared shot straight up into a salute.

"You need to fix your attitude cadet."

"Sorry sir."

"At ease. Speak freely."

"It's just that, my squad just keeps letting me down. They honestly aren't that skilled."

"Compared to you, I can agree, but that's not the problem."

"Sir," Jared explained. "All due respect, I'm literally the one carrying the group. They just drag behind."

"No, you LEAVE them behind."

"Sir?-"

"Jared, that's your name right?"

"Yes sir. Beats a CT ID any day."

"Right. Well, you complain about your squad, how they drag behind?"

"Yes sir."

"Well how about this. Instead of forcing your squad to catch up to you, carry them to you."

Jared looked confused. "I don't know what you mean."

"Don't yell at someone for not doing it right. SHOW them how to do it right. Carry your squad to victory."

Jared looked down in thought.

"That's an order." Shadow patted his shoulder before leaving.

Shadow snapped back into reality. He was fighting Grimm. Something had happened to him that he had never experienced before. He was somehow able to reach out and feel the presence of his attackers. It must have been his aura, something that he learned in a class.

A Beowulf lunged at Shadow. He responded with 2 shots to the head. He whirled around anticipating a rear attack and smacked another Beowulf with his DC-15S. It growled back. Shadow answered that growl with a fire enhanced uppercut, sending the Grimm flying through the trees.

"Whoa!" Tested was shocked as he blasted another Beowulf. "What was that?"

Shadow locked arms with another Grimm. "There's a lot you don't know about me Tested." Shadow's hands glowed with black fire as he tore off the arms of the creature and put three rounds in it's chest.

He turned to check on Tested and his team. They certainly have fought Grimm before judging by the way the three moved. Vin was the most aggressive. As a Beowulf got close to him, he threw his body into its gut, knocking it back. With the creature stunned, he fired his DC-15A into its chest till it fell over backwards and died. Another came from his rear. He whirled and slammed the butt of his rifle into its gut. The Beowulf fell to its knees. Just before he finished it off, Shadow heard him mutter "For Jag you son of a bitch."

Don fought more calculated. He opened fire on them afar. When a Beowulf got close, he waited until the Grimm pounced before rolling out of the way. In his flanked position, he easily mowed the Grimm down with his DC-15S.

Then there was Tested, in full riot trooper mode. He waited until a Grimm was 6 metres away before slamming the 8 round burst into its chest. He would smack the Grimm with his shield of it got too close.

Shadow knew he could take out all the Grimm on his own, but he didn't want to risk Tested and his men.

Summoning his black fire, he heated up. It wasn't working. He was certainly able to start a campfire but he couldn't burn the forest. Why couldn't he? He had nearly burned his room down when Machine nearly took Blake. Blake. He remembered that his fire was controlled by emotion. He got angry, remembering everything Shash has done to him. Every last moment. Every nail biting insult or fight. And he got angry. Then Shadow saw it, the forest started burning. The Grimm started howling in anger, cut off by the burning trees that were falling. slowly, Shadow calmed down.

"Everyone! Out now!" Shadow barked as he led the other three deeper into the forest."

When they finally reached a safe distance from the forest fire, Tested stared at Shadow in amazement. In fact, all three troopers stared at Shadow in amazement.

"Sir..." Tested started. "How did you-"

"Another time," Shadow cut him off. "I'll explain once we get out of this god forsaken forest."

"Yes sir."

"Alright, let's find some shelter."

-Yang 3rd Person POV-

Yang got the call from GT that Jared was in the hospital in the morning. In a rush, she immediately made her way to there, her team barely able to keep up with her. She didn't bother taking a bus. She would've drove if it wasn't for that Nova destroying her bike.

Finally she exited the hospital elevator and entered Jared's room. Startled, TJ shot up from his chair and drew his DC-17B side arm. Realizing it was Yang, he slipped the weapon into his holster and slumped back into his seat.

"Gave me a scare Yang." he said.

She saw Jared. He had bandages and pillows propped up everywhere. A bandage around his nose, his torso, and his forearm. Then he had metal supports along the right side of his rib cage-

"What happened?" Yang asked as she went beside Jared's bed.

"He was attacked by one of Shash's Nova," GT explained. "Detta, was his name. He is Shash's most deadly assassin."

"Are you all right?" Yang asked Jared as she squeezed his good hand.

"I think I broke my humerus," Jared paused, realizing the joke he made. "Never mind, my sense if humor is still intact." he chuckled."

Yang noticed her team enter the room. GT explained the situation to them.

"When I fought him," Jared attempted to sit up. "He mentioned something about encountering you and Blake. Yang, Care to explain? And where is Shadow?"

"He's busy." Blake interrupted.

"Bullshit. He would be here. As for my other question?"

Yang was speechless. She was about to say something when the silhouette of Designer started appearing, his body in full armor following straight after.

"And, choke." Designer announced. By his tone, he had a smirk of disappointment and "I told you so" on his face.

Jared was staring Yang down with an annoyed look on his face. "Answer the questions Yang. What was Detta talking about, and where is Shadow?"

Yang looked to her team. They just exchanged glances. Yang then looked to Designer. He just shook his head.

"You're caught anyway," Jared crossed his arms. "No point in still hiding it."

"Let it go Yang." Designer nodded.

Yang was about to explain, but Blake beat her to it. "Shadow's been captured by Shash."

Jared's expression quickly changed to panic. "What?"

"I've got it." Designer said as a hologram screen popped up from his gauntlet. He played the footage they received from the intentionally left behind camera.

Jared, GT, and TJ exchanged glances.

"... We've got to find them." Jared said as he attempted to get up. He let out a grunt of pain as soon as he sat upright.

"Jared," Designer said as he placed his hand on his shoulder. "Stop, you are in no condition."

"Get off of me." Jared shrugged him off.

"Jared, he's right," GT agreed. "You can't even get on your feet."

"We don't know where Shadow is, we have to find him." Jared was still struggling to get up.

"Boy, I will stun you." Designer reached for his side arm.

"Jared, wait!" When Yang finally placed a strong reassuring hand to his shoulder and slammed him back into the bed, he stopped to listen. "Look, I know it was wrong not to tell you earlier. But now, you have to stay here. We'll find him.

"Right, girl's week." Jared rolled his eyes. "At least take care of them GT and TJ."

"That's a negative," GT said firmly. "Judging from that note you got from the club; Detta may still be hunting you."

"We'll watch over him." TJ told Yang.

"Designer, look out for them?" Jared asked.

"You know me Jay." he chuckled.

"We're going to find him." Ruby assured.

"I hope so. Good luck." Jared hoped.

"See you around J-man." Designer said as he cloaked and followed team RWBY out of the hospital.

Shadow, Jared thought. You better be alive, for all our sakes.

-Tested 3rd Person POV-

*Flashback*

"GAH!"

The group was freeclimbing a cliffside when a giant bird creature wearing the "white masks" picked up Cal. Cal was innocently checking his datapad due to a weird ping he was getting on his short range radar. Immediately, everyone opened fire. The echoing screaming of Cal could be heard from the bottom of the cliff. He probably accidentally turned up the volume on his helmet speakers. Who could blame him, he was in imminent danger. Like the scorpions, none of their shots seemed to be harming it. The bird let out a loud screech when Have got a shot in it's eye. It didn't destroy the eyeball, but it seemed to irritate the beast.

"Aim for the eyes!" Tested barked.

"Look out!" Whix cried. "He's ramming the cliffside!"

Almost seeminglessly, all the squad members clung close to the cliff.

_Rumble!_

Debris fell over Tested's head as the bird's wings smashed the cliffside. Tested was surprised by a sudden scream above him.

"Gah!"

"Whix!" A trooper called.

Tested quickly looked up. Whix was falling with a bunch of debris. The bird must have knocked his section off. Instinctively, he reached out to grab his hand. As their hands joined, Tested braced himself.

_Thud!_

Tested's arm went toss when a sharp pull almost took Tested off the cliff. He looked to the end of his arm to see a frightened and thankful Whix holding on with his dear life. Tested swung Whix to the cliff and waited until he gained his footing before letting go.

"You're welcome." Tested teased.

The humorous moment was short lived due to the bird circling back towards them. Cal was still being held hostage in the talons of the bird, still screaming, smacking it's feet, hoping for it to release him. It did, but not in a good way. The bird let out an ear piercing shriek as it threw Cal at the cliffside with a killing blow. Tested and Whix didn't leave him to fall. They both caught each arm in hopes that his armor took in the force of the impact. Tested looked to the top of the cliff. Vin was already up there with a plan in motion.

"Hey ugly!" he screamed as he fired at it. "Over here you worthless pile of shit!"

Reluctantly, the bird turned its attention towards him, circling back around letting out another shriek of terror. The bird went full speed, still shrieking. That was his mistake. Just before the bird rammed into the ledge where Vin was, Vin tossed a thermal into its mouth. _Smart man. _Tested thought as the bird's head blew off moments later.

Vin fired a cable into a boulder and secured it. Then he slowly rappelled down the cliff to grab the motionless body of Cal from Tested and Whix. Just because Cal didn't respond doesn't mean he's dead. He could still as easily be in shock or unconscious.

Tested and Whix reached the top last, where the news was confirmed. Don was knelt beside Cal. Cal's helmet was removed, his face expressionless and his eyes staring deep out into the blue sky.

"Dead sir," Don stated as he shut Cal's eyes. "Alive wouldn't have done him any good as well. He's broken every bone in his body."

"Put his helmet back on." Tested ordered softly. He knelt down and unclipped his datapad from his belt. "_Goodbye._" he whispered as he got up. "All right, let's keep going.

They were almost at their destination. 5 more clicks to go. They waked for more 2 hours, encountering more wolf creatures, until they reached something rather intriguing. Some sort of downed drop ship. There were dead men with weapons surrounding it. They looked like fallen soldiers who held a brave last stand before dying at the hands of those bests.

"Don, Vin, check out that vehicle," Tested spoke with a thought "We might be able to use it as transport."

"Yes sir." Don replied and he and Vin did and they were told.

"Let's secure perimeter boys," he spoke to Have and Whix. "Something killed those soldiers, and I want to make sure it isn't still here."

They both nodded and the three started scanning the brush. _No strange creatures. So what killed the soldiers? They died a bloody death._

"Tested! Watch out!" Have screamed.

Tested whirled around immediately and activated his shield just in time to stop a lethal attack of a giant snake. It was black and had white patterns on the top of its skin. Have and Whix opened fire, concentrating on its head. It slithered around, whacking Whix into a tree. Just then, Have got a shot through its eye. The snake arched in pain and collapsed to the ground. As a precaution, Tested tossed a normal grenade towards its head, blowing it to pieces.

"Overkill much?" Whix joked.

"Hey, that thing almost took my head off." Tested chuckled.

The three laughed. All of a sudden, a white snake with black patterns shot out of the bushes.

"Have, move!" Tested warned.

Have let out a scream as the snake devoured the top half of his body. Whix and Tested turned away from the sight of their brother being ripped in half.

"That's not right!" Whix said in disgust and he turned back and started firing.

They both fired at the snake, but it was moving too fast for them to get a shot in its eye. Quickly they fell back to Don and Vin.

"Don! Vin! We got to go!" Tested called.

"Big snake! Big snake!" Whix piped in.

"Don's trying to figure out how to start the engines!" Vin explained as he took a rifle position to cover the retreat of Tested and Whix. "The ship seems operational, but the soldiers were probably killed before they could have a chance to take off."

Even with the combined firepower of 2 DC-15A rifles and a DP23 shotgun, they couldn't penetrate its scales.

"Guys," Don's voice came up on the commlink. "I got the engines!"

"Fall back!" tested ordered Whix and Vin.

They ran back, Whix pulling up the rear. They heard a rumbling jet. It must've been the dropship. It wasn't the pleasant sound of hope that a Larty made that they were all used to, but it was good enough to give them the thoughts of survival.

Vin got on first, then Tested.

"Don, I saw a gun on the front of this." Tested stated.

"Console is confusing sir," Don shook his head. "I'm lucky to even get the engines online."

Tested saw a button to the left of the console, wait no, a switch. He flicked it and the seal of a hidden button on the joystick opened. There was bright flashing letters on the screen saying 'Weapons online".

"Get us off the ground, now!" Tested commanded. "Whix!" He called out to the brave 501st trooper holding off the beast. "We are leaving!"

Whix looked back at the drop ship slowly lifting and sprinted towards him. Tested and Vin fired at the snake, hot on his heels. It was still gaining on him. When Whix finally got to the dropship, it was already 2 feet off the ground. Whix leaped but something almost dragged him off. Tested and Ving quickly grabbed his arms.

"Gah! My leg!" Whix was screaming. The snake's fangs were deeply implanted in Whix's right leg. Tested quickly drew his DC-15P sidearm and fired at its eyes. The beast arched back in pain, not before giving one hard tug,. It was stunned for the time being. Whix was screaming, louder than he ever has. Tested saw why. His right leg had been ripped off from the thigh down. Don whirled the drop ship towards the snake. Why he did that? Tested found out moments later due to the sound of a gatling gun firing and a hiss of pain.

Tested immediately screamed "Don! We need you!"

Don looked over his seat. He waited until Tested had a firm grip over the controls, then jolted towards his patient.

The ship was actually easy to fly. Tested had received an introductory lesson to flying vehicles back on Kamino should he ever need it in the field. Good thing he did. Slowly, Whix's screaming died down and that's what worried Tested. He didn't want to lose another man.

"Vin, take the joystick." he ordered. Vin came and took his place.

He walked over to an unconscious Whix. Blood was smeared all over the deck. Tested noticed that they shut the side doors. Don had heavily wrapped the wound in bandages drenched in a blue liquid. Bacta.

"One dose of bacta on his bandages, another 2 I injected in his thigh," Don spoke grimly. "I Gave him a sedative for the pain. He'll live."

"Good," Tested let out a sigh of relief. "Get some rest, but watch him."

"Sir, yes sir." his voice was soft.

"Sir, someone is contacting us." Vin said.

"Let me hear it."

The message was from what sounded like a soldier. "Drop ship A-23, response please."

Tested it the receiver. "Uh, this is dropship A-23, over."

"Where have you been A-23, we received a faint distress signal momentarily and we feared the worst."

"Monster attacks slowed down our progress, giant birds in particular."

"Nevermores?"

"Uh, sure."

"Well you can expect much from the creatures of Grimm,"

_Grimm, that's what all those monsters were._

"You boys coming back to base?"

"You mind if we take a slight detour? Tested asked.

There was a long pause before the soldier replied with "Just not too off course A-23."

"Roger that, over and out."

Vin flew the dropship over the city walls, they seemed to have defenses set up along it. Tested was glad they weren't firing on them. Still, he wondered how the army of the Grand Republic might hold up against them. They were perfect soldiers. Tested guessed his military.

"So Test," Vin asked. "What is this deter you were talking about?"

"Stick to what seems like the shade part of town."

"Uh... Okay."

The city was beautiful. It had tall white buildings towards its nicer side, the sun giving off the impression that this was heaven. Even the shady side. While it wasn't as nice, it still seemed as clean as the upper levels of Coruscant.

"Vin, see if you can rig the ship to fly in a straight path." Tested said mischievously.

"What are you thinking?"

"We're giving them the slip."

Tested and Don rigged ascension cables to the deck and opened the doors. Don grabbed some webbing and strapped Whix to him. Once Vin set the ship in a straight path, they all quickly rappelled down the lines, landing on a small building. The Dropship kept flying.

"Sir, what are we doing?" Don asked.

"We don't have enough time to collaborate with this world's military; we need to focus on our mission."

"We can't do both?"

"Shadow's team is in danger. Shash disobeyed orders and he's going to kill them if we don't help."

"How do you know this?"

"Just trust me. Get inside the building and set up camp. We might be here awhile."

Tested woke up naturally. Don, Vin and Shadow slept in a hammock of branches in the trees. It almost acted as camouflage from Kill. It was Shadow's idea. It was smart. Hidden from above and below. He must have operated in a forest environment before.

"You three awake?" Shadow spoke with his eyes closed.

"Mhm." Tested was startled when they all replied in unison.

"Pack your things," Shadow ordered. "We can't stay long. It's a lot easier to track during the day."

"I need to empty my bladder." Vin said.

"I told you not to drink all that water." Don sighed.

"Go quickly." Shadow said as he swung down from the hammock.

Vin came down next and unslung his rifle, disappearing into the forest. Tested and Don started packing their things. He tossed Don and Shadow a ration bar for the day. Then he himself started nibbling at the tasteless sugar. Its funny how these were designed. They could give you all the calories needed in a day, leave little, stench less waste product, and they were completely good for your health. The ultimate food that could last you days and still not make it easy for you to track. Tested took out another ration bar for Vin when he returned.

-Vin 3rd Person POV-

Vin found a safe spot. Checking to make sure no Grimm ambush him, he placed his rifle against a tree. Then he removed his helmet and removed the armor plates protecting his crotch. He peeled back the body glove and started rubbing his leg to get the pee going

_Rustle._

Vin turned around towards the noise. He saw nothing but trees and bushes. He went back about his business.

_Rustle._

Vin turned once again.

"Who's there!" he called out.

There was no response. Went he went back about his business he felt a cool barrel touch the back of his neck.

"Don't turn around." a british voice spoke. "Turn around and you're dead."

Vin stood perfectly still, his pee slowly coming to a halt.

"Disappointing mate." Were the last words he heard.

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Shadow heard the shot. He quickly equipped his DC-15S and ran towards the sound. Tested was already there, his shotgun scanning the brush. Don was beside the body of Vin. He was face planted in the dirt with a bloody smoking hole through the back of his head. His crotch plate had been removed and his suit rolled up. Kill had gotten to him while he was peeing.

"This was that Nova, sir." Don announced.

"Shit, Vin..." Tested shook his head.

"He can't be far off," Shadow was focused. "We've got to move."

"Right..." Don stood up in sorrow. "Lead the way sir."

Shadow led them through the bushes. He was focusing on branching out his Aura. He wasn't picking up any Grimm, that was good, nor was he picking up Kill. No wait. What was that? He slowly turned right and ducked down just in time for a blue bolt to fly over his head. He quickly got up and returned fire, his shots melting through the leaves into the unknown. Just for a second, he saw a white spec move. Kill was on the run.

"This way!" Shadow ordered, going the opposite direction.

They ran for about 30 feet before and explosion threw Shadow forwards, sliding into the mud. Thermal. It was one of Kill's traps. Tested and Don were still all right. They were recovering from the blast. Shadow was about to walk towards him until dust projectiles started hitting the floor around them. The drop ship was firing on them. Separates, they ran in different directions. Don was with Tested and Shadow was alone.

Shadow scanned his surroundings once he got clear. Tested, Don or Kill were nowhere in sight, but he still heard the humming of the dropship. How was he going to get Tested? If he screamed his name, he might as well light himself on fire and call out his position for Kill to end him. To reach a more tactical view, he climbed up a tall tree. Other than the green forest, he noticed the drop ship hovering low enough for the tall trees to go higher. Those trees are at a higher altitude than the dropship. He thought. _Hmm... _Shadow came up with a plan in his head.

-Blake 3rd Person POV-

Blake and Yang were awaiting Designer's instructions on their scrolls. He specifically said not to do anything until he said so. Shadow has been gone for 2 days, and in those two days, the team had found out Shash has been gathering arms and has painted a red bulls eye on Jared's back. Junior's 'message' for Jared was a death note, he probably didn't know anything about. This made sense why he was scared of the messenger than he was Yang. Yang was still unusually quiet. Even though Blake was usually the quiet one, this was way too quiet for Yang. She tried to lighten the mood.

"So," She started. "Where should we start?"

"Wherever Designer wants us to." Yang replied flatly.

"Right," Blake summoned the most cheerful voice she could muster. "Want to guess?"

Yang turned her head to her slowly. "Blake, don't try to be sociable. It doesn't suit you."

"Well, say something. Say something crummy, like, I don't know the sky? Or come up with a terrible pun."

"I thought you liked the silence."

"Yang, the silence is so loud that I'm literally going to rip my ears off. The kitty ones."

Yang's straight face slowly slipped into a giggle. "That would be funny." She replied with a smirk.

"Yang."

"What?"

"Jared's fine."

"That's what we thought last time," Yang clenched her fists. "Look at how wrong we were."

"This time GT and TJ are looking after him. You know those two."

"I know…" Yang paused.

"I sense a 'but' coming up."

"I feel like we are doing exactly what Shash wants."

"What makes you say that?"

"Look. First, he sent your former partner, Adam, after you as a diversion. He slits his throat, and crashes the dropship into Beacon, knowing Shadow would send an SBH to investigate. Of course, Shadow sends Titus, who Shash kills."

"He did lose two of his men-"

"I'm not done." Yang cut her off. "Knowing about Shadow's unstable emotions, he predicts Shadow to fall into a state of depression, isolating himself from others, leaving the perfect opportunity to find him alone to capture. With Shadow captured, he knows that the SBH are vulnerable, leaving an opportunity to kill Jared. And now? Well we are looking for Shadow. It's the obvious thing to do. But how do we know that's what he wants us to do?"

Yang was right. Shadow had told her that Shash was a mastermind in strategy. One move led to another strategic victory. With Shadow in his position, the SBH are still vulnerable.

"Yang, I don't care how smart Shash is," Blake stated. "I think there is one thing he didn't expect."

"And what could that be?"

"Designer."

"Oh Shash knows about him by now."

"But where does Designer go? What does he do? Not even Shadow bothered to even find out."

"Eh, I suppose you're right. But how exactly does that help us?"

Pessimism. That was a new attitude for Yang. Blake's scroll beeped as Designer's message was received. She quickly answered it. Designer appeared on the screen and Blake saw Designer's face for the first time. His helmet had been placed on a table beside him and he stood in front of a black wall. He had the same face as the rest of the SBH troopers, with the exception of Shadow, except his hair was a lighter brown and it had been combed up, surfer style.

"Ready to begin you two?" He said with a smirk.

"Where are you Designer?"

"I'll never tell."

"Let's just get started." Yang moaned.

"Gee, someone's grumpy." Designer muttered to Blake.

"I heard that!" Yang crossed her arms.

"Just had to put me on speaker, did you Blake?" He face palmed.

"Just get started Designer," Blake rolled her eyes. "First task?"

"Alright, fine. I sent Ruby and Yang to check the warehouses near the docks."

"All of them?"

"All of them. Even the ones that weren't on the Intel provided by Machine."

"So what do we do?"

"Investigate your previous investigation."

"What?"

"Go the exact same places you did yesterday."

"Why?"

"Junior's club is a good place to start. One of Shash's Nova was there, and he left a note for Jared. That note is your primary objective. It could have tons of clues to where Detta has been."

"Anything else?"

"Take a look around the place. By your description about what happened at the club, there could be lots more he's hiding. Find anything you can on the Nova. Oh and check out that bomb residue that was used to blow up Yang's bike. We don't know for sure what bomb he used. It could have been a thermal, or it could've easily been a bomb from this world, which I can trace. Search through your encounter through the rooftops and alleyways to get some residue if you have to."

"So, everyone's going to the exact place we went yesterday?" Blake sighed.

"Eh, more or less."

"Well, what will you be doing?"

"Monitoring your progress and checking with MY contacts?"

"You have contacts?" Yang asked in a mockery tone.

Designer crossed his arms and shook his head. "Well what do you think I've been doing for the past few months? Jacking off? Or better yet, _getting laid?_ Wink wink, nudge nudge." He directed the comment at Yang.

Yang scoffed and turned away.

"We're on it Designer." Blake assured.

"It's not my life that's at state here Bumblebee," He gave Blake and Yang a handle. "Good luck."

The call ended.

"So, let's start walking." Blake suggested.

"I ain't walking." Yang said as she brought up a black bike.

"Where did you get that?"

"Rental, so we shouldn't let this get blown up."

"Alright."

Yang placed a normal black helmet on her head and tossed one to Blake.

"Did you pick this?" Blake asked, liking the color.

"Eh, it could use some flames, but it's good enough." Yang replied as she revved the engine.

Blake secured her helmet and they drove away.

-Ruby 3rd Person POV-

Ruby was playing with Shadow's DC-17B sidearm, or at least that's what Designer told them it was. She spun it around in her hands and pointed it at a crate, pretending she was a real SBH trooper. Finally Weiss came around and Ruby quickly put it in a holster.

"Seriously?"

"What?"

"Ruby, we're supposed to be looking for clues."

"I know."

"Then stay focused."

Ruby groaned as they continued with their investigation.

They were told to recheck all the warehouses near the docks. That's usually where dust was transported to be delivered to dust shops. Like yesterday, every warehouse they checked was clean. All of a sudden, Ruby's scroll pinged. When she answered, she saw the face of Designer.

"Icy Rose," he called them by their handle. "Progress report."

"You've got to give us a better code name." Weiss frowned.

"Well I won't call you bratty youngster, so stick with it."

"On topic," Ruby stated clearly for Weiss to hear. "The warehouses we've checked are clear."

"Roger that, over and out."

The line went dead.

"Why don't we get the fun missions?" Rby asked aloud.

"Missions should never be fun."

Ruby pivoted to face her. "Oh come on Weiss. Yang and Blake busted up a club owner, and ran into a Nova. What did we do? Run into Designer."

"Ruby, when are you going to grow up?"

"Stop asking that question!"

Weiss, seeing as she had crossed a line in their friendship, stood down.

"So have you checked on Yang?" Weiss asked, trying to ease the tension.

"No, not yet."

"She's being very quiet."

"Too quiet." Ruby looked down and started kicking her boots around.

"You should talk to her."

"Me resolving Yang's problem?" Ruby chuckled. "It's always me who had the problems when I was younger. Yang was the one who would fix them."

"Well," Weiss placed her hand on Ruby's shoulder. "Maybe it's time for you to return the favor."

-Tested 3rd Person POV-

Tested and Don moved silently through the brush. Their eyes were open for Kill. Tested had read all the files on the Nova before he was sent on the mission. Kill was their hunter. He could track them anywhere. They could only evade them for so long.

"Movement on our left flank." Don whispered.

"Is it him?"

"Uncertain."

"Is it following us?"

"Uncertain."

"Keep your eyes on it. If it's him, better not let him know we've spotted him.

"Roger that."

They moved on a few more meters, and what Tested saw at the corner of his eye saved his life. He whirled right and activated his shield just as the bolt pinged off. Tested and Don opened fire on him. Kill didn't seem to put up a good fight. As soon as shots started getting close, he quickly ran off.

Tested didn't want to take the bait. He led Don forward into a run through the trees; hopefully they would outwit him long enough to reach Shadow.

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

*Flashback*

Shadow got to see how the forest drill went from the observation deck for the first time. He had a different perspective on the map right now, realizing other safe paths his squad could've taken a year ago. There were even a few rifle positions near the start of each platform that give straight shots at the outpost.

That wasn't entirely what he was focused on at the moment. Jared's squad was up. He hoped that his teachings have struck a nerve in him.

"Eyeballing someone in particular?" Mack nudged him.

"Possibly, sir." Shadow replied, secretly tuning into Jared's squad commlink frequency.

"CT?"

"I have a name for him?"

"And what is it?"

"I'll tell you when I am certain of him."

"Mhm."

Shadow finally tuned in 20 seconds into the exercise. He watched the team with an infrared visor.

"Dre, cover the rear." Kada advised.

"Jared, where are you going?" Hon asked.

"You guys keep going. Tiu, follow me."

"What are you up to?"

"Just keep moving forward. I have a hunch."

"Jared."

"Guys, trust me this time."

After a long pause, they all nodded. Jared led Tiu in a different direction while Kada pushed forward with Dre and Hon.

"Movement on our left."

"Are you sure?"

"I just saw a light go out."

"Jared, we need you two, get back here." Kada ordered.

"Forget them, just keep walking."

"Where are you?"

"If they open fire on you, activate your lights and run."

"They'll see us running."

"I thought you all said you were going to trust me."

"Jared seems pretty unorthodox." Mack nudged Shadow.

"He'll come around." Shadow assured.

A firefight began. Kada's group was under fire. Shadow could tell they refused all temptation to return those shots, but they did as Jared asked. Lights were on and they were running towards the outpost. All of a sudden, the enemy squad ceased firing and Kada's group made it to the outpost. Where was the other squad? A message popped up on one of the data screens in the observation room. It said "Riper squad offline". That was the enemy squad that fired on Kada a moment ago. But what took them out? Jared. You son of a gun.

"Dre, Hon, take a position." Kada motioned them.

"Hon, duck!"" jared was out of sight, but his warning saved Hon from being taken down once more.

Another squad was somewhere in the bushes.

"Stay down boys." Jared whispered on the commlink."

Just after, a tree of to that squads flank released blue bolts onto them. The other squad stood no chance, their backs were completely exposed as Jared and Tiu mowed them down from the tree.

"Second and first squads down Kada." Jared chuckled on the commlink.

Kada just shook his head in amazement.

"We can't circle around to take out the last one. We have to engage them in full fledged combat." Jared warned.

"Copy that." Kada said as he whirled around towards their front. The last squad was emerging from the bushes, opening fire on them. It was hard for Shadow to decide the victor. Clones against Clones usually turned out being no victory. That is, unless you have Jared on you team.

Jared and Tiu emerged from the other side of the outpost, taking out two of them. Jared saw one of the troopers get close to Hon. He took quick aim and fired. This time, the shot missed the trooper, but it did alert Hon to turn and fire three shots at the trooper's torso.

"Nice shot Jared." Hon said sarcastically.

"I uh, meant to do that."

"Sure you did."

"Focus on the battle." Jared scoffed with a smile.

Slowly, but surely, Jared's team took out that remaining enemy troopers.

"I think I've found a good candidate sir." Shadow nudged Mack.

"Hm? Oh, who?"

"Jared."

"Really..." Mack shook his head. "You choose the unorthodox one?"

"He did well in keeping his squad alive sir."

"I don't know."

"Better than I did in the Corellian sector."

Mack stiffened and turned slowly towards Shadow. "So that's what this is about?"

Shadow didn't answer.

"I don't think he has the attitude for the Special Operations Brigade."

"Sir," Shadow switched to a stern tone. "I'm taking him."

Mack, realizing Shadow was challenging his authority, snapped into command mode. "Or what?"

"Or I will leave the Shadow Black Hole division."

"You would give up your future within the Special Operations Brigade?"

"Sir yes sir."

The two stared down for a long time, the other two SBH seemed rather frightened of what would happen to Shadow, but he didn't back down.

"Fine." Mack gave in. "Under the conditions that you are responsible for him."

"Yes sir." Shadow agreed as he began to leave to observation deck to retrieve Jared.

"I assume this means you will be accepting Lieutenant, Shadow?"

"Yes sir." Shadow replied as he turned the corridor.

Shadow made his way through the corridors towards the barracks. He found Jared and his squad being addressed by their drill Sergeant. The Drill Sergeant noticed Shadow and let the troopers change out of their combat armor.

Something you want sir?" the Drill Sergeant snapped a clean salute. Shadow noticed a scar on the bridge of his nose, a scar he would know anywhere, a scar from a fight that took place a year ago.

"CT-3654? Is that you?" Shadow asked.

"Yes, that is my ID sir."

"Brother, it's me, 86!"

"86?" CT-3654's eyes widened in shock. "You're alive?"

"Yeah, where did you think I went?"

"I thought when those SBH troopers took you; they killed you because you never came back to us."

"Nope, they made me a Shadow Trooper. The name's Shadow now."

"The name's Tradeur." He replied and shook Shadow's hand.

"So what happened to you?"

"Combat," Tradeur explained as he bent down and knocked on his two legs with a metallic ping. "Served in the 212th till a landmine took my legs. My only options were a desk job, retirement, maintenance or this."

"And you seem to have fun here."

"You know, its fun to teach."

"A lesson I plan on learning." Shadow agreed.

"So what are you doing here?"

"General Mack. I have a recruit from this squad."

"Copy that." Tradeur walked over to the Cadets, now in their normal attire. "Attention!" he barked and all the cadets formed up. Tradeur nodded to Shadow, motioning that he could pick.

"Jared, step forward."

Jared stepped forward nervously.

"Come with me." Shadow ordered.

As they made their way through the corridors towards the hangar, Jared asked "Am I in trouble sir?"

"Negative. Did General Mack talk to your squad?"

"Yes sir."

"Well you've been selected."

"Really?"

"Mhm."

"Shadow troopers are known for their stealth attacks, you saw the combat exercise didn't you?"

"Mhm."

"And I also heard, that one of the SBH squads in the Corellian sector managed to collect Intel from a Seppie station even though their leaders accidentally screwed up the number of droids that would be there. Somehow the leader managed to get most of his men out."

"Jared."

"Yes sir?"

"Remind me to teach you when to shut up." Shadow sighed, tired of Jared's ranting.

"Sorry sir, but one more question."

"Shoot."

"The leader of that squad in the Corellian sector, do you know him?"

"Yep."

"Are you two close?"

"We're close." Shadow smirked under his helmet.

"How close?"

"Very close."

Shadow snapped out of the flashback as he stealthily climbed one of the tall trees overhanging the dropship. This was their ticket home. Finally, when he reached a good height, he jumped as silently as he could, landing on top. There was no specialized SBH armor to absorb the impact and make his landing quiet, so he landed with a soft thud. The side doors opened. The men had heard him. He quickly ran towards the back and hung onto the ledge. Hopefully they wouldn't see his fingers.

"Nothing here," one of the men spoke. "Probably just a bird."

Shadow peered over the ledge, waiting for the man to go back inside before making his move. Judging by the amount of gas he had in his blaster, he had about 7 shots left on full charge. He would have to use them sparingly. He flicked the charge of the DC-15S to full. He clung onto the door as one of the men closed it. Estimating where the man was, he fired a bolt through the door. There was a grunt and a thud of a falling body. A whole bunch of dust rounds started impacting the doors.

_Idiots. Dust doesn't have the melting property that ionized particles do._

Shadow listened for the directions of the shots and fired two more times. Two more bodies dropped. He swung himself inside and planted his feet into a man's face, sending off the dropship falling to his doom. He whirled and shot another man, whacked another, punched another. Finally he emptied his last few rounds into the last man then turned towards the pilot. He was unarmed. Still, Shadow's anger surged through his veins. He grabbed the pilot by the neck and summoned his black fire. The man screamed in agony from the burning but Shadow didn't stop until he stopped moving. To finish him off, Shadow slammed him into the floor, and he disappeared in ash.

Shadow slowly regained his calmness. He sat in the pilot seat and looked at the display. They were tracking Kill, and by the way he was moving on the screen, Kill was tracking Tested. Shadow brought the Dropship into tactical mode and zoomed towards Tested's position.

-Tested and Kill, Collective POV-

_WHACK!_

Tested had been caught off guard by a crossline. When he recovered, he was greeted by a blaster shoved in his face. He quickly reacted, batting the gun to a safer position. It was Kill. Kill threw a right cross. Tested blocked it and threw a counter. Kill deflected the punch upwards, leaving Tested's torso wide open. Kill took the chance and planted his knee in Tested's gut. Tested blocked the next attack to his gut and pushed Kill away. Kill, being smart, used the momentum of the push, ran three steps up the tree behind him and launched his shin to the side of Tested's head. Stunned from the blow, he toppled back towards a tree.

Don opened fire on Kill. Kill dodged, left, right, down, then launched himself for Don's gut. The attack disarmed him. Still using his advantage, Kill wrapped his arms around Don's waist and brought him up, then slammed him into the dirt. Don was stunned.

Tested finally got up. He equipped his shotgun and fired. He almost tagged Kill at this range as a round skimmed of his right shoulder plate, leaving a discreet burn. Kill reacted quickly and returned fire. Tested's shield popped out of his arm just in time to absorb the bolts. Kill dived into the bushes, quickly followed by Tested. Kill caught Tested by surprise and grabbed the barrel of his gun. He then ripped the weapon out of Tested's hands and kicked him in the side. Tested slid across the dirt for a few seconds and whirled to counter Kill's next attack. As Tested span, he smacked Kill in the face with his shield. Kill stumbled back. Seizing the opportunity, he rammed Kill with the shield, knocking him into a tree. This left enough time for Tested to equip his DC-15P sidearm.

Kill got up. Bloody wanker. He saw the pistol come out of the holster and dove right, blue bolts impacting the spot he was just at a few seconds ago. Kill fired at Tested repeatedly, but they only were absorbed by the shields. The bolts were just pushing him backwards slightly. 'Try this on.' Kill thought as he tossed a metal sphere.

Tested hid behind his shield again, seeing Kill toss something. After it pinged off his shield, he fired again. This time, instead of Kill fighting back, he took cover behind a tree. _Weird._ Tested found out why he did so when he looked at the metal sphere attached to his shield. It was a Thermal grenade. He didn't have enough time to react and in moments, was flying into a bush. Tested was recovering. He tried to sit up. There was a loud crackling sound on his left arm. He looked and saw his energy shield malfunctioning and going haywire. He quickly unclipped it and tossed it away from himself. He was glad he did. It exploded with a force strong enough to tear him apart. Tested got up and turned towards Kill. Don had come up behind him and had put him in a chokehold using his blaster.

Kill was in a chokehold, a gun running across his neck. He quickly tightened it. He knew what he was doing. He placed his right leg behind Don's right leg, placed his right arm on the left side of Don's face behind him, used his left hand to grab the back of Don's head, then flipped him over his shoulder. As soon as Don hit the ground he quickly took aim with his DC-15S, which Kill swatted the barrel away before he pulled the trigger. _Smart lad. He knows how the fight, I'll give him that._ Kill quickly grabbed the barrel of Don's weapon before he could do anything else. He placed his right leg on Don's bicep to steady and yanked the weapon free. Don let out a scream of pain as Kill practically broke his index finger. He shoved Kill's leg off his arm and rolled to recover. This time Tested came at him. Kill dodged his sloppy right punch and kick the back of his knee to bring him into a crouched position. Don came at Kill once more. Kill had had enough of him, so he drew his DC-15S and flicked on the Tibanna setting, squeezing the trigger..

_Blam!_

Kill's shot went straight through Don's throat. He grasped it and let out a few unaudible gasps before dropping to his knees and toppling over. Kill quickly turned around, kicking the back of Tested's other knee before he could get up. He wrapped his right arm around Tested's neck and grabbed his left forearm, and placed his left hand behind Tested's head.

"Don't struggle mate," Kill said as his grip tightened. "It's over."

Kill was right and Tested knew it. His grip was 100% secured with no way out. Although he had one chance. With his vision bloodshot, he reached for his vibroblade. As soon as he unsheathed it, Kill quickly placed his right leg over Tested's right arm and locked it as he fell to his back, dragging Tested with him. Now Tested was really stuck. He tried reaching for his DC-15P but the blaster was out of its socket. He must have dropped it. He gave up. There was nothing to do, nothing he could do. He slowly stopped restraining as the world began to fade to black. All of a sudden, Kill released him. Tested quickly rolled over and grasped his neck to recover. He felt really light headed and could barely move. He managed to find the strength to look up at Kill, fleeing into the forest, automatic dust projectiles following him. He listened and heard the deep rumble of the dropship. _Why did it fire at Kill? Wait, dropship!_ Tested whirled as he stood up, grabbing Don's fallen DC-15S blaster and aiming it. He quickly lowered his aim when the side doors opened with a familiar face of Shadow. Tested quickly clipped the gun to his belt and slung his fallen shotgun. He leaped onto the platform and Shadow quickly punched the engines, zooming away from the forest.

-Kill 3rd Person POV-

_Blasted fools. Those idiots managed to lose the drop ship._

Kill was taking cover behind a large tree when he heard the rumble of the dropship fade away. His prey, caught in his grasp, and his hired hitmen just had to ruin it. He was not done. He contacted his Atlas HQ.

"Get me some support here!" He barked into the mic. "3 Dropships pick me up at my beacon."

-Frogy here. Thank you all for sticking with us. This chapter took forever for us to write and some of the stuff didn't make it. Anyways. We will be revising chapters 1-5 and doing 22 then we will take a week break. Thank you all once again.

"Shadow out"


	22. Chapter 22

-Designer 3rd Person POV-

Designer waited in a dark alley. Even with the sun high in the sky, the alley was still shadowed by the taller buildings. It was the perfect hiding spot. Anyone who wanted to see who was conversing in there would have to get within visual range of the conversers. Designer's contact arrived. A faunus, a member of the White Fang. It was the closest he could get any of his contacts. All of his contacts who made White Fang high ranks disappeared mysteriously, until Designer found their bodies. They were always dead, courtesy of a vibroblade slash through the throat.

"You there Des?" the faunus called in a whisper. The faunus was mixed as a human and a tiger. He had a human form, along with tiger ears, claws, and a thick red beard. The edge of his beard was thinly white. He was in his late 20s, a young man.

After making sure no one was watching, Designer disengaged his cloak. "I'm here," he stated. "But you're late Elias." he named the man.

"Needed to make sure I wasn't followed. Nova are getting suspicious of me."

"Then don't contact me next time. I'll find you." Designer didn't want to lose another contact. "Do you have anything?"

"I have your flash drive you gave me. I managed to discreetly download a few files from Torchwick's computer, but it isn't the motherload."

"Yes but it is something." Designer received the flashdrive from him. "Anything else?"

"I'm being deployed outside of Vale along with hundreds of others."

"Outside the city walls?"

"Yes. I'm lucky I even got in on the operation. It's extremely confidential."

"What operation? Where?"

"I don't know, but I leave tomorrow."

"Sounds like he is building an army." Designer stroked his helmet where his chin would be. "But numbers in the hundreds is not going to cut it, especially with the Atlesian Military prepared to send support at any time."

"Torchwick tells us that numbers isn't a problem. Apparently we aren't the main force."

Designer thought for a few moments. Who is the main force of Shash's so called army?

"Hey, if you need me to collect some more Intel before I leave-"

'"No Elias." Designer cut him off. "You're in deep. Don't take any chances right now. You said it yourself, the Nova are suspicious of you."

Elias was about to argue, but paused and nodded. "I won't be of any use once I leave. I don't know how far away I am going."

"So this is goodbye then?" Designer finished.

"I guess so."

"Sit tight kid." Designer said as he engaged his cloak.

"Designer," He heard Elias narrate. "The unknown man. Designer unknown."

"Maybe if we see each other again, I might change that." Designer chuckled.

"Good bye Designer."

"Goodbye Elias."

-Blake 3rd Person POV-

Blake didn't like this place. She was rather disappointed that Designer told them to come back here again. For anger sake, Blake got Yang to investigate outside while Blake took a look around inside the club. Sure enough, she found the note from Detta under a chair. Junior was not at the club. As soon as Yang had informed his guards to leave the club vacant briefly, they all turned tail and ran.

This works out with their mission. Blake could search the whole club without any distractions. After searching the main floor, she made her way to his office. Good, his computer is still on the table. She plugged her scroll into his computer and activated Designer's hacking software. Slowly it began sifting through the computer data for anything related to their mission. It went through old and new data, present and deleted; it scanned for everything.

While the software was doing its job, Blake looked around. Junior was telling the truth. He didn't know anything according to any hard copy files in his office. He didn't even know what happened to Jared; Blake found a copy of Jared's hospital file. He probably wanted to see what happened to him.

Soon after, Blake's scroll beeped. The software had finished its job. She decided to call Yang.

"Yes Blake?" Yang answered her call with her flat tone.

"I have what I need. Do you?"

"Yep."

"Alright, I'll meet you outside."

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

Jared felt useless in his hospital bed. Last night Jared's aura and semblance was phased in his fight with Detta. The drug that he was given was starting to wear off. He would need his aura to heal his wounds faster so he could join the search for Shadow.

GT and TJ were completely alert, constantly scanning the area for Detta. But Detta, despite the white and red armor he wore, could move around undetected as an SBH trooper could.

Although, there wasn't a whole lot of ways he could get in undetected. GT had notified the front desk about him, the roof had security guards, and the windows are sealed. He was safe, but anxious to help find Shadow. All he could do was sit there and wait...

Wait...

-Tested 3rd Person POV-

Shadow had set the dropship to auto pilot and was helping Tested look over gear. Tested knew they were heading to Vale, but it didn't matter. As far away as they were from Kill, the better. Shadow seemed disturbed by something and was avoiding eye contact with Tested, despite the fact that Tested's phase II helmet hid any facial expression he made. After a few moments passed and Shadow continued this behaviour, Tested broke the silence.

"Sir?" he asked. "Is there something wrong?"

"Not at all." Shadow replied, still avoiding eye contact.

"Permission to speak freely sir?"

"Granted."

"You're full of crap."

"Excuse me?"

"Something is bothering you."

"I'm fine."

"No you aren't."

"You seem so sure, yet you have no evidence to back your theory."

"Are you seriously going to use the SC's favorite saying?"

"Ah, so you know about that."

"Evidence or get the fuck off, yeah, I'm pretty sure everyone knows about that."

Shadow let out a light chuckle.

"But I know you feel guilty about something."

"So you can read minds now?"

"No," Tested explained as he removed his helmet. "Despite your pale skin tone, we still share the same face. And I know all my faces now.

Shadow stopped his task of scrubbing a DC-15S blaster.

"I'm sorry about your squad." he finally said. "They came to rescue my team, but the only success there was was their deaths."

"It's fine. We were given orders. We followed them, just like the soldiers we are."

"You don't seem fine." Shadow looked up at Tested.

"What do you mean?"

"Like you, I can read my faces as well. You're angry about your squad."

"No, Shadow," Tested rubbed his forehead. "I'm fine. I've lost brothers before. It's just I've served with these men for a while."

"And it is my life your team was supposed to protect."

"Do you always blame yourself?"

"You've read my file, correct?"

"Yes. My boys received the privilege to view your heavily encrypted file."

"Then you know the answer to that question."

"Not every death is on you." Tested placed his arm on Shadow's shoulder. "You've saved a lot of lives."

"Name one that mattered."

"Heh, Private Tested, Erdani-5 station." Tested smiled.

*Flashback*

"Get down!"

BOOM!

An anti-armor rocket arched into the ground, just where 5 clones stood in defensive position moments ago. Erdani-5 station was under attack by the CIS, and they did not have the firepower to hold them off. Tested whirled around a corridor and blasted at two SBDs, taking out the first one with a headshot. The second SBD did not give him the chance to shoot. His twin wrist mounted heavy blasters soared down the corridor. Tested took cover to avoid the bolts. After a few seconds passed, Tested whirled back around again. This time the SBD was right in front him. It quickly batted Tested's DC-15S blaster away. In an attempt to fight back, Tested threw himself at the SBD's torso. The SBD's shear mass kept him in place as he slammed his arms onto Tested's back, throwing him into the ground. It took aim for the kill. All of a sudden, Tested's doom was averted by severally well placed shots on the SBD's lower torso. It stumbled back, fell to its knees, then went offline. Tested looked up to see a trooper lending him a hand help up. Tested took it.

"On your feet pal." He said.

Just then, a red bolt struck him in the chest. Tested turned towards the corridor, seeing a large wave of droids marching through. Tested quickly picked up his fallen blaster and returned fire as he retreated back to cover with his other teammates.

Erdani-5 station was a relief and supply port for Republic forces relaying to the outer rim. If the station fell, Republic forces using this route will not receive their supplies as fast. All the troopers on this station have not seen real combat, despite their Kamino intensive training, and the battle wasn't looking too good.

In one of the hangers, Tested and a few others were backed up against a wall using crates as cover. Droid boarding craft continued to arrive making the battle seem impossible to win.

BOOM!

An ARC-170 blew up and one of its wing collapsed on a trio of troopers.

"C'mon!" a trooper next to Tested yelled. "Help 'em out!"

Tested began to follow the trooper towards the downed ARC-170. While everyone else at the crates held covering fire, Tested and the other trooper lifted the wing off, revealing the three downed clones. One was dead and the other two were injured. Tested grabbed one of the by the legs and dragged him as quickly as he could to safety. He heard the trooper scream in pain from the pulling. Tested was forcing him into pain, but it didn't matter. It doesn't matter what type of injury a downed trooper has, get him to safety by all means necessary. As soon as Tested and the other trooper got the wounded to safety, a medic arrived.

Tested looked over at an advancing wave of SBDs. He noticed that one of them had an arm that was different from the others.

Oh no.

The SBD fired a rocket towards him. Tested dived out of the way.

Boom!

The area where several troopers were holding was gone.

"Fall back! The hangar is lost!" A Sergeant called out before he was pelted by an oncoming trio of battle droids.

Tested mobilized with the remaining troopers, running for an empty corridor and slamming the door controls, sealing the hangar behind them. All of a sudden, the wall to Tested's right blew open. Tested and the others quickly attempted to grab something to secure themselves. Everyone who wasn't sucked out into the vacuum space fired a cable down the corridor into the next intersection. After they reached it, they shut the door and area repressurized. Tested looked around. Only six of them were left.

"Shit!" A trooper stomped the ground. Tested knew him as Jab.

"Contact the CC," Whix suggested. "We need to call this in."

"I thought I remembered you being a man of action, Whix." Tested nudged.

"I think a hundred battle droids would change anyone's minds." Whix snapped back.

"Foex, what'd they say?" Omer asked Foex, noticing him on the comm channel.

Foex shook his head. "Command center is down."

Another set of rumbles shook the station and the lights went out, followed closely by the artificial gravity. Then, everything faded away.

BOOM!

Tested's story was interrupted by the sound of heavy dust rounds impacting on the hull of the drop ship. The floor rocked back and forth. Tested saw Shadow scramble for the controls. He quickly swerved left. As the ship turned, a sight was revealed of another drop ship. They were being chased.

"They've certainly caught up." Shadow frowned.

Can you keep it together?" Tested asked.

Shadow gave him a smirk. "Just watch me." he said as he slammed into a dropship.

-Ruby 3rd Person POV-

Ruby and Weiss were almost done. They had two more warehouses to go. The sun was starting to lower and the sky was growing orange. Like yesterday, they had found nothing in any of the warehouses they had checked so far. They arrived at the second last warehouse on their list.

"Well, this is it." Ruby announced and reconsulted her scroll to verify.

"Let's get this over with." Weiss sighed.

Ruby opened the door and entered. This one was not empty. There was a car parked inside with the engine still running. Ruby turned to the left immediately after she heard a metal clatter. She exchanged glances with Weiss and they both pulled out their weapons. They proceeded cautiously towards the car. Weiss peered through the windshield while Ruby kept watch.

"Some stowed away gear." Weiss stated what she saw. "Whoever was packing was about to leave.

Weiss opened the tailgate and continued searching. Ruby reached out with her aura. Something didn't feel right. The still running car backed up her theory. Whoever was getting ready to leave was still here. Ruby looked up the metal flank of stairs leading to the office. As soon as she caught sight of the balcony, she activated her semblance. A dust rifleman narrowly missed Weiss as Ruby pushed her out of the way with exceptional speed. Ruby whirled around and returned fire. The rifleman took cover.

Clang!

Ruby turned to see Weiss block off two swords men from attacking her. A man came up around the car and leveled a dust pistol. Ruby fired her weapon, using the recoil and her semblance to launch herself at him. When the man opened fire, Ruby turned into a flurry of spins, blocking all the rounds fired. She slammed the butt of her weapon into the man's chest, then whirled around and smacked his face with the dull end of her blade. Seeing the rifleman take aim again, she launched herself at one of the balcony supports and sliced them clean off. The man fell forward off the falling balcony in a heap. When he got onto his knees, Ruby slammed the blade of her Scythe into the ground as a support and launched her body into a two foot kick, landing the blow to his face and knocking him out cold.

Weiss was fine. Ruby saw her easily parry an attack and slam her blade into an attacker's face. The man went down just as the other jumped into a slam. Weiss brought her weapon almost vertical to her body and deflected the weapon into the ground. She sideswiped under him and elbowed his face before he hit the ground unconscious.

The two finally realized another man get into the car. He revved the engine and charged at ramming speed towards the girls.

Weiss had already moblized and stabbed her weapon into the ground. A thick wall of ice emerged in front of the duo.

Thud!

The ice cracked and shuddered on impact.

"Now!" Ruby yelled.

Weiss struck through the wall with a fire attack and blew it open, allowing Ruby to pall through and jab her Scythe into the hood of the car. She ripped it out violently, destroying the engine.

The man stumbled out of the van but Weiss froze him from the knees down, stopping him in his tracks. She then froze his arms together.

"What the hell?" The man cried in surprise. "What is this?"

"Who are you? Who do you work for?" Ruby asked. "Talk."

-Yang 3rd Person POV-

Yang really found Designer sketchy. Well, that was actually more of a fact rather than an opinion. He chooses the shadiest places for meetings. Yang didn't see a point. He could've easily just have met Blake and her at Beacon. It's not like he would get caught with his cloaking device. He had chosen an alleyway near the city center.

Yang heard a light humming coming down the street. Yang popped her head out into the open, seeing nothing for a few seconds. Designer disengaged his cloak just as he drove into the alleyway with his speeder. He folded it up and slung it like a backpack.

"Alright ladies, let's see what you've got." He joked as he pulled out his laptop.

"I got the data from the computer," Blake said as she handed Designer back his flash drive. "I never got the chance to look it over."

"That's my job, don't worry about that." Designer remarked and he plugged the flash drive into his laptop. "And you Yang?"

Yang tossed him the collected ash in a baggie from the bombs Detta had been throwing around. "I picked up what I found. Not all of it may be the-"

"I can single out what I want." Designer said as he held the contents in the baggie and studied them briefly. "Good work."

"So where have you been all day?" Blake asked curiously.

"Like I said, checking with my contacts."

"And what did you come up with."

"It will be better if we find Shadow before I say. In the meantime, I have data from a computer owned by a Roman Torchwick. I assume you've met him?"

"Met him?" Blake rolled her eyes.

"He's practically our best friend." Yang smiled lightly as she finally pulled a sarcastic joke. She could've sworn she saw Blake silently giggle. Whether she thought the joke was funny or she was glad to see Yang recovering, she didn't know.

"I see."

"Is that all?"

"Nope. We are going to head back to your dorm. Hopefully Weiss and Ruby have found something to look over." As he started to lead them out of the alleyway, he paused and asked "By the way, I'm a bit hungry. Are you two in the mood for Chinese?"

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

GT and TJ were taking shifts watching Jared. Right now, GT was in the car, sleeping while TJ was in the room with Jared. he felt a little stronger now after several hours of recovery. The doctors said that his aura could help speed up the process of healing once he had enough rest. Jared sat up and saw TJ fidgeting with his commlink.

"Any news?" Jared asked.

"Nope." TJ shook his head. "Not since Designer checked in a few hours ago. You were napping."

"What did he say?"

"He said that he was checking in on his contacts while team RWBY was running any leads. Ruby and Weiss are at the docks and Yang and Blake are checking out their encounter with Detta."

"So they have no idea where Shadow is?" TJ didn't have to reply to answer no. All of a sudden, a light beeping started coming from TJ's datapad. He pulled it out. "What is it?" Jared asked.

"The hospital isn't accepting visitors right now. Me and GT should be the only exceptions. I rigged a sensor array for the roof, and something or someone has set it off."

"Could be a nurse, or a security guard."

"Maybe…" TJ said after a short pause. "I'm going to check it out," TJ unholstered his DC-17B sidearm and placed it beside Jared. "Can you take care of yourself for a minute or two?"

"I can still shoot if that's what you are asking."

TJ chuckled. "I'll be back soon. If I hear you scream for help or shoot, I'll come running."

Jared nodded in acknowledgement and TJ left the room. Jared just sat quietly. He closed his eyes in attempt to concentrate on using his aura. No luck. He was still not strong enough. Then Jared froze. He heard a light footstep enter the room. It wasn't TJ. Jared quickly grabbed his DC-17B and levelled it at the newly arrived Detta. Detta leaped forward and bended Jared's arm back, forcing the barrel up to Jared's chin.

"Ah-ah-ah. No you don't."

"You son of a bitch." Jared blurted.

"Shhhh." Detta jerked the pistol up further into Jared's jaw. "Keep it quiet or you're going to have a dust round pass up the top of your mouth and through your brain."

"What makes me think that you aren't here to do that anyway."

"New orders

. I'm not here to kill you. I'm here to threaten you."

"Might as well kill me then."

"Be careful what you wish for." Detta had Jared captured. All he could do is listen. "This planet, this world, you treasure it, yes?"

Jared didn't bother answering.

"Rhetorical question. But how far would you go to defend it?"

"I don't know what you are asking." Jared gritted his teeth.

"Are you willing to fight, or kill your brothers?"

Jared remained silent.

"Ask yourself that question. Sleep on it."

Detta released his grip and elbowed Jared in the face. As soon as Jared regained his vision, Detta was long gone. TJ came into the room running.

"What happened?" He asked. "I heard a bang."

"Nothing, I dropped the pistol." Jared lied.

TJ sighed. "Well I checked the sensor array. I don't know who tripped it but if you're still alive, that is good news."

"Mhm. Well I'm going to get some rest."

"Roger."

Jared didn't have to lie about Detta's arrival, bit something about his threat, felt wrong. What did he mean by

. What did me mean? Why did he leave such a rhetorical question as a threat? These were Jared's last thoughts before passing out into another nap.

-Tested 3rd Person POV-

*Flashback*

Tested woke up floating. He looked around, attempting to see through the pitch black corridors. Then he clipped his flashlight attachment to his helmet and illuminated the area. A quick hand grasped his shoulder.

"Lights out!" A sharp whisper came out. Tested knew it was Whix.

Heeding his advice, he quickly shut off his headlamp. He tapped a button on wrist and his boots magnetized to the metal floor. Whix tapped Tested's helmet where his chin would be, signifying him to shut off his microphone. Tested clicked his teeth and activated his comm channel.

"What happened?" Tested asked.

"You hit your head when the lights went out," Whix explained. "I thought you were dead."

"Who is still here?"

"Jab, Foex and Omer."

"Can we get moving? We are pretty much sitting ducks here."

"We've been hiding in the dark for half an hour, hoping not to draw attention to ourselves."

"Well I don't want to sit on my ass for another half hour. Let's move."

"Where?" Foex asked. "The Command Center is down."

"We have to call for help." Tested stated. "Where is the nearest comm station?"

"Barracks." Whix answered. "We can't exactly move without drawing attention."

"The way I see it, we sit here, run out of oxygen from our suits, and die, or we make it to the barracks or die trying." Tested could only guess they were exchanging glances, or attempting to exchange glances in the dark. "Oh c'mon, it's not like you all have something better to do. Let's go."

Tested activated his headlamp and navigated the group towards the barracks. Everytime they would run into droid patrols, they would cling themselves to the ceiling and shut their lights. Slowly but surely, they made it. Tested hit the door controls. His first sight was the floating carcasses of several clone troopers. They must've had the same idea.

"That's very encouraging." Omer muttered.

Tested motioned them inside and went for the comm. As he started pushing buttons, he noticed Whix motion the others to watch the door. After making sure the link was secure from any droid ships that may be listening, he began his message.

"Mayday, mayday, mayday. This is CT-1747 on Erdani-5 station. We have been taken over by CIS forces. Request immediate rescue." Tested waited for a response, but was only answered with static. "I repeat, need evac on Erdani-5 station, possibly 5+ survivors." Still no response. "Can any Republic forces hear me?"

"Victims spotted!" A deep, metallic and menacing voice boomed as the barrack doors slid open, revealing the sight of a party of hulking Super Battle Droids. "Blast them all!"

Whix fired the first shot, guiding a bolt straight to the lead SBD's head. The SBDs returned fire. While the others held a stand, Tested continued with his message.

"Mayday, mayday, mayday! Erdani-5 down! Need evac, now!"

Tested turned quickly and pointed his blaster, landing three shots on a close by SBD. Tested looked around. One of the SBDs was holding Omer by the neck. He picked him off the ground and filled his torso with ionized particles, then tossed him away. Whix threw himself at one of them. When the SBD pointed his heavy, wrist-mounted blaster at him, he quickly swatted it away and shoved his blaster in the droid's face, digging rounds into it's faceplate. Foex took a shot to the shoulder. His body cringed from the pain, but he continued fighting. Jab was hiding on a top bunk on his stomach, firing at the doorway and making sure his comrades were overwhelmed. Soon, the short wave of SBDs came to a halt, but they were quickly followed by a trio of BX-series Commando droids. Their precise shots quickly dispatched Foex. The lead droid leaped at Whix. Whix quickly fired at it, landing one shot on it's torso. The droid's thicker armor withstood the round, giving it time to kick Whix in the face. It was about to finish Whix when another shot tagged it's arm. It shrugged off the round and took aim at Jab. Just before he was about to pull the trigger, Tested pelted him with blue bolts, not stopping until it died. The remaining two droids responded quickly. One of them grabbed Jab and dragged him off the bunk, throwing him to a wall. He leaped at him just as Jab fired a shot in the center of it's torso. Losing it's momentum of the leap, the droid just arched backwards and kicked Jab's helmet off. Jab began struggling to breath and started clutching his throat as he gasped for air. His face started to inflate. The other commando droid came at Tested. Tested tried to hit it but it kept jumping from one area to the next with extreme agility. Luckily, Tested fired a shot at the droid's gun, disarming it. Then Tested launched himself at the droid, batting it's head with his blaster. The commando droid took a few hits before he grabbed Tested's arms, placed his foot against Tested's chest, and launched itself away from danger. Tested hit the rear wall where he bumped into a damaged SBD. It grabbed Tested by the forearms and forced him against a wall.

"Threat captured," it stated. "Extermination in process."

Tested was no match. The SBD was superior in size and strength. There was no way he was getting out of this. All of a sudden, the SBD let out a loud metallic grunt. It released Tested and arched back in pain. A hand went over it's shoulder and jabbed a vibroblade into it's head. It dragged the SBD off of Tested and tossed him away. The commando droids were offline, courtesy of a vibroblade. Standing over Tested was a dark, imposing, black armored figure. It was a Shadow trooper.

"CT-1747 I presume?" the voice of a battle hardened warrior came through the speakers of the Shadow trooper's helmet. Tested nodded. "Grab your gear and your men. We don't have much time."

Tested snapped out of his flashback. Three white fang drop ships were chasing them over the ocean. Heavy dust rounds were ringing off the hull or flying past them. Shadow was expertly swinging around, avoiding the range of those cannons. A large rumble shook the ships. Shadow sighed.

"Tested, take the controls." He ordered.

"Yes sir." Tested obeyed reflexively. After Tested settled in, he stopped, and turned to ask, "Where are you going?" As soon as Shadow opened the cargo bay doors, he figured it out. "I strongly advise against that sir-"

"Have a little faith Tested." Shadow smirked before he leaped off.

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Shadow leaped off the dropship, landing on top of another. The pilot probably heard the thud because he was already swerving to shake him off. Shadow aimed his DC-15S blaster at the left engine. He had about two shots left on full charge. After deciding the best places to put them, he pulled the trigger. Quickly the engine burst into flames and the dropship began it's descent into the ocean. Shadow attached the ascension cable to the tip of the blaster, remembering to grab it from Tested's pack before jumping off. Waiting till his target moved close enough, he fired his cable at Tested's dropship and pulled himself, swinging onto another dropship. He let go of his DC-15S and grabbed onto the door handle. He cringed as the change of speed nearly yanked his arm free. As soon as he opened the door, he was greeted by a dust rifle shoved in his face. He quickly ducked to avoid the round and lunged at the shooter's gut, knocking him to the ground. He whirled and grabbed the front of the barrel of another gun. Using his semblance, he fried it shut before the hit man pulled the trigger. The gun exploded, knocking him back. Shadow reached into the hit man's holster and took his sidearm. He took a few quick shots at the cockpit controls then leaped back onto Tested's drop ship as it passed below. Shadow was lucky that Tested maneuvered closer. He wouldn't have made the jump unaided. He looked over to see the other dropship spin and veer into it's watery grave with a large splash.

More heavy dust rounds impacted on the hull around Shadow. One of them tagged the engines and started leaving a trail of smoke. Shadow took aim with the dust side arm and started returning fire. His efforts were in vain as they merely bounced off the cockpit windows. Kill was piloting it. He turned his attention to Shadow and opened fire with his dropship heavy cannons. Shadow quickly ran off to the side and swung back into the cargo bay, the dust rounds punching holes in the armour just where he stood seconds ago.

"We're hit!" Tested announced. "It's bad. Right engine is losing power."

"Can you keep it together until we reach land?" Shadow asked.

"I certainly hope so!" Tested wished.

All of a sudden, a large harpoon penetrated the ceiling of the cargo bay.

"Tow cables." Shadow growled.

"They're going to toss us into the water!" Tested said. "Try to remove it."

"We may have bigger problems." Shadow muttered as he heard a hollow landing on top of the dropship. "Tested, vibroblade, now!"

Tested tossed Shadow his vibroblade just as Kill swung in through the cargo bay door.

"Now we're talking!" Kill taunted as he pulled out his vibroblade.

-Tested 3rd Person POV-

*Flashback*

Tested was tending to Whix. They were the only ones left. Jab had suffocated from the lack of oxygen and was floating around the room. Tested look towards the Shadow trooper. His head was slightly moving, as if he was talking to someone. He was probably communicating to someone on a private channel with his helmet speakers locked out. No one in the room could hear his conversation.

"Agh, what happened?" Whix babbled as he began to wake up.

"You got knocked out during the fight." Tested informed.

Whix shot straight up. "What happened?"

"It's fine. The Shadow trooper saved us." Tested motioned.

"Where are the others?"

"Dead."

After a few moments, Whix slammed his fist against the ground and grabbed his blaster. "Damn clankers." He muttered.

Just then, the Shadow trooper came towards them. "Are you two ready to move?"

"How did you find us?" Tested asked.

"The distress message. We ran a bioscan on the station and you're the only survivors."

"So reinforcements have arrived?" Whix beamed.

"No."

"Then why are you here?" Whix crossed his arms.

"Would you rather me not?"

"No, but that doesn't answer my question."

The Shadow trooper sighed. "We're here to destroy the station and download all the data that it was holding. Can we go now?"

"So what do we call you?" Tested asked.

The Shadow trooper ignored the question and started moving out of the barracks, into the corridor.

"I guess he doesn't talk much." Whix speculated as he passed by Tested.

The three made their way to the hangar. Most of the droid patrols on the way there were down. Ice crystals floated through the corridors with the occasional floating carcasses of clone troopers. It was a massacre for the station's troopers. They stood no chance. Shadow halted them as soon as they got to the last door. He placed his finger against his ear like he was talking to someone, then said "The Evac point is hot and one of the Separatist frigates are circling around. Get to the end of the hangar, and I'll draw their fire."

Tested nodded, then asked "What about you?"

All of a sudden, three battle droids emerged from the door in front of them.

"Intruder!" One of them said.

The shadow trooper quickly brought his DC-17M up and shot all three of them in the head. "Go!" He yelled.

As Tested and Whix ran, the hangar filled with gunfire. Shots were coming from everywhere. When they almost reached the end, they found five commando droids blocking the way. The duo took cover and returned fire, but slowly, the commando droids began to advance.

"Where's a Jedi when you need one!" Whix joked angrily.

"I'm almost out of ammo!" Tested said.

"I just ran out." Whix shook his head and cussed a word that Tested didn't hear.

"I've got about 4 shots left." Tested gritted his teeth.

"Make 'em count!"

Tested emerged from cover and fired his four shots, landing all of them on one of the commando droids torso. It went offline and started to float.

Just then, several blue bolts ripped through the remaining droids heads. Tested turned and saw the Shadow trooper coming behind them. "Go! Now!" He barked. He spun around and fired his DC-17B pistols at the oncoming wave of Super Battle Droids.

The three finally reached the end of the hanger.

"What now?" Tested asked.

"We're trapped!" Whix exclaimed.

"Out!" The shadow trooper said.

"What?" Tested asked confused.

"Out!" The shadow trooper booted Tested through the unshielded and open hangar door behind him and out into the vacuum of space. Tested flailed around trying to grab onto something. Then he landed on metal. He looked around. He was in an LAAT. The interior was dark and the red light was flashing. Another group of SBH stood inside. Tested looked over and saw as Whix and the other Shadow trooper glide in. "Pilot! Punch it!" The shadow trooper screamed.

Immediately the ship rumbled and jumped into hyperspace. Tested and Whix were safe. Their mission was over.

-Ruby 3rd Person POV-

"Talk." Ruby stirred up the most assertive voice she could muster. She wished Yang was with her right now. She was a lot better with interrogations. The man was refusing to answer to answer questions, resorting to idle threats.

"My boss is going to kill both of you!" He taunted.

"That is the fifth time you've said that." Weiss groaned. "How about you be useful and answer our questions?"

"No way in hell." He shook his head.

"Call Designer," Ruby said after a long moment of silence. "Let him know what we found." Weiss nodded and headed outside. Ruby looked at the man. "Do you work for the Nova?"

The man didn't reply.

"My friend is missing," she continued and brought her Scythe to bear. "And intend on finding him."

"You wouldn't little girl," the man smirked. "Don't even act like it."

Ruby swung and slapped him in the face with the flat of her blade.

"Try me." She said sternly.

"You little red bitch." He rotated his jaw.

"I will hit you again." Ruby threatened.

The interrogation was interrupted by a large boom that echoed through the sky. Weiss immediately entered the warehouse with a shocked expression on her face.

"Ruby, come look!" She exclaimed.

Ruby butted the man in the face, knocking him out cold, then rushed outside to see Weiss.

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Shadow was in an intense blade fight with Kill. He was wearing no armour to protect him. Not that it mattered. Vibroblades could cut through almost anything. Kill's dropship was pulling their dropship upwards, trying to waste their fuel before they made it to shore. He had to detach the cable, or they would all not make it.

Shadow ducked under a slash from Kill. He came up for a counter and launched an upwards stroke. Kill backed away and spun, throwing another attack towards Shadow's shoulder. Shadow quickly sidestepped to avoid the swing and knocked Kill back. Shadow lunged forward for a stab but Kill deflected the attack into the metal wall behind him. He turned and smacked Shadow across the face. Shadow lost grip of his blade and toppled to the floor. Just as Shadow looked up, Kill was coming down in a stabbing motion on top of him. He brought his hands up and caught the bladed arm. Kill placed his left arm on the butt of his blade and leaned into it, forcing his body weight into the killing blow. Shadow couldn't hold it. The knife got closer and closer to his chest, it started to glaze his skin. Shadow keeping his survival instinct, deflected the blow into the metal floor to his right. Pinning the blade into the floor, Shadow kicked Kill off, disarming him. He then rolled backwards onto his feet to recover. Kill was already moving. He took a step onto one of the walls and launched a kick towards Shadow's head. Shadow quickly ducked and spun into a round house punch as soon as Kill landed. Kill backed up and brought his arms to bear as Shadow's fist and forearm slid off Kill's armor. Shadow wasn't going to wait for Kill to counter so he threw a punch right in between Kills gauntlets, landing a blow to the center of Kill's helmet. Shadow shoved Kill back and reached for Tested's DP23 shotgun. Kill was shoved right to the cockpit where Tested was sitting. Seeing an opportunity, he reached around Tested and clung to his seat. Shadow leveled his weapon.

"At this range you'll fry us both Commander!" Kill sneered. "Lower the gun!"

Shadow didn't need to. Tested reached for his DC-17B, jammed it into Kill's arm that was wrapped around him, and pulled the trigger. Kill let out a grunt of pain and slammed Tested's head into the pilot console. Meanwhile, Shadow pointed his DP23 shotgun up towards the anchor of the tow cable and blew it apart, separating the two dropships. Shadow turned and ducked just in time for Kill to pull out his DC-15S and fire a shot just over Shadow's head. Shadow leveled his rifle but he Kill was still in Tested's line of fire. Narrowly dodging another shot, he dropped the DP23 to the deck and launched himself into Kill's abdomen. Kill slammed his fists into Shadow's unprotected back, knees him in the face and threw him off. Shadow landed on his back almost at the other end of the deck.

"Get up!" Kill taunted. As soon as Shadow got onto his knees Kill kicked him down again. "I said get up!" Kill kicked Shadow in the side. Shadow felt the rage boil inside him and he rolled into recovery position. "Is that the best you got you prick?!"

No it wasn't. With a loud roar, Shadow's fist erupted in flames as he got up and connected it with Kill's helmet. The blow blew off the seals on Kill's helmet and knocked it off, revealing the angry face of the Nova ARC. Shadow brought his right leg up and booted Kill down. When Kill got up, Shadow spun into a roundhouse kick and stunned him. Shadow looked at the cockpit. Tested was knocked out, face planted at the controls as the ship was leaning into a steeper and steeper dive into the water. Shadow sprang at the controls, immediately pulling up to stop their dive. He was about to check on Tested when an arm wrapped around his neck and pulled him back.

Kill was still up. His helmet was back over his head and he slid his left arm behind Shadow's head, locking the hold. Preventing Shadow from throwing him off, he fell backwards.

Shadow was trapped. He could not evade the hold. It was a death grip. But he wasn't giving up. He reached around him, feeling for anything that could provide an advantage.

There. He felt it. The hilt of the vibroblade that Kill had jammed into the floor earlier in their fight. Shadow grabbed it, pulled it out of the ground and jammed it into Kill's torso. He immediately released Shadow.

Shadow rolled to his side and after securing himself to the deck, said "Get off my ship!" And kicked him out of the open bay door.

The other drop ship was firing at them, targeting the last engine. A large explosion rumbled the ship and Shadow ran to the controls. After looking over the data screens he realized their crash was imminent, but he was in luck. Out the front windshield, was he saw made him let out a sigh of relief. The Vale docks. He pulled up all the flaps and drags as he could. With any chance, he just might be able to crash into land. Although there was only one secure seat. Tested's. Shadow thought to himself. He might survive the crash. Might. He had survived a tumbling van while unsecured, although a full on crash may be another story. He wasn't going to sacrifice Tested. The poor boy had no aura, and Shadow owed him and his squad for freeing him from Kill's prison. It was time to return the favor. After securing Tested to his seat, he grabbed one of the thermals from Tested's pack and armed it. Calculating just the right time, he tossed it out the bay doors, hoping it exploded in front of the other dropship's cockpit. Shadow, noticing the ground getting closer and closer, quickly shut the bay doors and braced for impact. It was going to be a hell of a landing.

-Ruby 3rd Person POV-

Weiss pointed at 2 flaming bullhead dropships with White Fang insignias whirling around into a collision course with the docks. There was a large explosion as they rammed through cranes, dock equipment and shipping containers.

"Did you call the others?" Ruby asked.

"I didn't get the chance." Weiss replied.

Ruby pulled out her scroll and dialed Yang. She picked up with "Hey sis, where are you?"

"Yang, take Designer and Blake to the docks now! It's an emergency!"

"What? What happened?"

"Two white fang dropships just crashed! We are about to investigate."

"We're on the way!" Yang spoke in a rush and hung up.

"Let's go." Ruby nodded at Weiss.

The duo came up on the first dropship cautiously. Their weapons were drawn and they were looking everywhere for survivors. A man in white armor emerged. He had blue markings and was assisting Shadow out of the dropship. He slung a backpack on and carried a weapon that seemed to look like a gun. He was scanning the area for threats. Ruby and Weiss approached, assuming the white armored man was friendly.

At the sight of the two girls, the man leveled his weapon at them.

"Tested wait!" Shadow exclaimed weakly. "They're friends."

The man slowly lowered his weapon and approached Ruby and Weiss.

"Come here." Weiss led them several meters from the crash next to some crates.

The man set Shadow down and removed his helmet. He had a large bruise on his forehead, a scratch on his cheek, and blood dripping from his mouth. He spat before talking. "Other, dropship." He coughed in exhaustion.

"I'll check it out." Ruby assured.

Ruby rushed over to the second dropship.

Whizz!

Ruby ducked just in time for a dust projectile to fly past her head. She quickly twirled her Scythe around, deflecting the next few pairs of shots. The survivors of the second dropship were hired goons, armed to the teeth. Ruby quickly launched herself at them, ducking, rolling, weaving past the oncoming fire. When she finally reached the closest attacker, she brought the flat end of her Scythe and uppercutted his jaw. The man flew back unconscious. Ruby whirled around and fired several dust rounds from her Scythe's built in sniper rifle. She wasn't aiming to kill them, but rather force them into cover. Then, she sped away, leaving only rose petals where she stood a moment ago. The men were disoriented, desperately scanning the area for their target. In reality, Ruby had flanked them. She brought her Scythe into a long arcing motion and took out the last three survivors.

She grinned. This was an easy victory. Although it was short lived when she heard gunfire.

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Shadow finally awoke. His entire body ached with bruises and broken bones. He was surprised that he survived.

Shadow quickly got upright.

"Shadow!" Weiss exclaimed. "Are you alright? Where have you been?"

Shadow realized she had been shaking him and swatted her away. "Stop shaking." He babbled.

"I'm going to go help the other girl." Tested said. He was on one knee with his DP23 leveled and ready for action.

"She's fine." Weiss assured.

"What happened?"

"One big crash sir." Tested reminded him. "So far, we're good."

"Are we at Vale-" Shadow paused when he heard a light rolling metal sphere come right beside him. "Thermal!" He yelled and tossed it away.

Weiss reacted by shooting ice at it, forming a dome around it.

"Get down!" Tested yelled as he grabbed a large metal plate of debris and shielded the three.

BOOM!

They went flying back. Shadows combat reflexes kicked in. He rolled quickly to recover and reached for anything to use as a weapon. There was only one person at the moment who would toss a thermal at them. Kill. Shadow grabbed a metal bar as Kill emerged from the smoke. He was covered in water.

"Shadow!" He called out almost gleefully. "WHERE ARE YOU?"

"Over here you son of a bitch!" Shadow charged and swung.

Kill ducked as it went right over his head. "That's the spirit!" He taunted. Shadow swung again as hard as he could. The metal bar snapped as Kill blocked it with his wrist. He responded with a quick punch to the face. "C'mon Shadow!" He booted Shadow down. "C'MON!"

"Stop!" Shadow heard Weiss yell as she lunged into a strike. Kill arced his body back and her attack glazed off his armor. He then sidestepped as eight blue bolts from Tested's DP23 shotgun flew past him simultaneously. Weiss spun into an attack but Kill got under it and grabbed her by the neck and threw her down. Tested charged, firings as he went. Kill keep sidestepping. Just when Tested got within two meters of him, two of his round tagged Kill in the unimportant areas in his upper torso. Kill batted away the barrel and engaged Tested. Tested threw a right cross, then a right, then a left. Kill deflected each attack out of his harm. Tested sidestepped and turned to a roundhouse kick that Kill narrowly ducked under. Kill sprang up at Tested in a twin fisted uppercut. Tested stumbled back, stunned from the blow. Then Weiss struck him in the right thigh. Kill let out a roar as he spun and backhanded her as hard as he could. Ruby intervened. She caught his blind side and swung lightning fast at his gut with the back end of her Scythe. Kill flew back and stopped with his heels.

"Are you alright?" Ruby asked Shadow.

"Mostly." Shadow groaned in pain.

"I've already called the others, they are on the way."

"Good-" Shadow paused as he noticed something familiar on her belt. "Is that my Deece?" He asked referring to the DC-17B Ruby had been carrying.

"Uhh..."

"Did you actually take my stuff while I was gone?"

"Well..."

Shadow looked behind Ruby and saw Tested blindly charge at Kill. Kill pulled out his DC-15S carbine and fired a round into Tested's lower torso, the force of the round knocking him to the ground. Kill leveled his weapon to finish him off.

Shadow desperately reached and grabbed his weapon from Ruby's belt. He quickly leveled the pistol and fired.

Blam!

The shot struck Kill in the torso. He looked down at the unbelievable smoking hole in his armor. He looked up in shock. Shadow got up and approached Kill, firing again and again. After eight shots, Kill collapsed to his knees and Shadow stood over him. Shadow ripped off his helmet and stared into the light fading from his eyes as he started gasping to breathe.

"Good... game..." He managed to say.

"Soldier," Shadow said as he brought the pistol to Kill's forehead. "You are relieved of duty."

Blam!

The lifeless body of Kill toppled over, his eyes staring out into the unknown. Shadow arced his head back and roared into the night sky. Then he turned back to the others. Exhausted, he collapsed to his knees and fell over. He caught the sight of purple leggings just before everything faded to black.

-Awhile Later-

Shadow woke up slowly. The sight of a white ceiling was the first thing he saw. He remembered this place. He was in the hospital. He turned to his left and found Jared in a bed next to his. He has several bandages and supports around his torso.

"Hey." Jared greeted skeptically.

"Hey."

"You look like crap."

"You look worse."

"I still think my face is better than yours." Jared still kept a serious skeptic tone.

"So what happened to you?"

"I fucked up a fight."

"One 'v' one?"

"Maybe..."

"You suck at fighting."

"So what happened to you?

"I fucked a crash."

"See what happens when I don't fly your shit?" Jared's face slowly slipped into a smile.

"There he is." Shadow chuckled and the two managed a brotherly hug.

"I missed ya pal." Jared laughed.

"I missed you too Jared." Shadow patted his back.

"What, no hug for me?" Tested's voice appeared. Shadow turned to his right and found him sitting in a chair wearing his armor from the waist down. From his upper body, his armor had been removed and the black body glove peeled down to his waist. He wore a plain white t-shirt.

"Oh yeah, who the hell is that?" Jared asked.

"A friend." Shadow explained.

"Sergeant Tested of the five-oh-first, sir!" He shot into a salute at Jared.

"Err... At ease." Jared exchanged glances with Shadow and muttered to him, "So he's one of those boys." Jared rolled his eyes.

"He saved my life."

"I'm glad he did!" Blake said as she rushed into the room. He sat up and kissed her when she came to him.

"Uh... Sir?" Tested stuttered.

"Not now Tested." Shadow said as he hugged Blake.

"Boy do we keep our promises or what?" Ruby joked as she skipped in.

"Honestly, that was luck." Weiss suggested.

"There is no such thing as luck." Designer magically appeared standing beside Shadows bed, startling Tested.

"Designer I will shit on your cloak if you scare me again." Shadow stared at him.

"I missed you too Shadow." Designer chuckled as he shook his hand.

"Good to have you back!" GT greeted.

"Things haven't been easy in your absence." TJ nodded.

"But we're here now." Jared said as he reached for Yang's hand.

"All of us." Shadow finished.

But that wasn't completely true. This has been a life changing experience. This had been one of Shadow's toughest campaigns, a crucible. One which he has grown stronger from.

Shadow thought.

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

It had been several hours since everyone had left. The hospital had released Shadow. His main injuries were mostly healed and he only needed bed rest. Jared was told that he would be released tomorrow, which was fine with him. As long as his team was back together. Yang was sitting silently in a chair beside him.

"Are you alright Yang?" Jared asked concerned.

"Yes, why?" She attempted to perk up.

"Your friends have said you've grown... distant..."

"No I'm fine-"

"Yang," Jared stopped her from escaping the conversation. "What's really bothering you?"

After a long pause, Yang took a deep sigh. "You know I love you, right?"

"Well, if I didn't notice after that... "event"... Then I'd be plain stupid."

Yang giggled. "It's not that, it's just Shash."

"What about him?" Jared switched to a more serious tone.

"Jared, he almost killed you."

"It wasn't him specifically."

"Yes but, you know what I mean." Yang paused when she realized she was squeezing Jared's hand with full force. She released and Jared exhaled. "I don't feel safe anymore." She continued. "I feel hopeless. I mean, all Shash had to do was reach out to break us. Think of what would happen if he went on full force."

"Yang, we will stop him."

"No we won't. We can't."

"What happened to that overly cocky blonde I fell for?" Jared grabbed her hand. "Yang, your positive attitude and energy is one of your best qualities. You should never lose it, especially to a man like Shash." Yang looked down and Jared placed his hand against her cheek. "Are you ready to start hoping again?"

Yang smiled and nodded. "Thank you Jared."

"Anytime." Jared sat up and pulled her in for a passionate kiss.

-Seoul 3rd Person POV-

Seoul was the only girl on Shash's team. She was a clone who (along with her entire batch) has a malfunction in her growth jar. The hormones which were supposedly supposed to change her gender as a fetus did not accept and she was regarded as a mistake, along with her entire batch. Luckily, the Jedi order came into command just before the Kaminoans issued their destruction. Because she was often discriminated by the males, she trained her hardest and pushed her body to the breaking point, making it into the elite 21st Nova squad. She was as hard as nails and was the toughest of the group, as well as being the most loyal.

She was on the Nova's database in their secret fort, going through all communications that spanned the world of Remnant. She slipped her helmet off and ran her gloved hand across her hair. It had been cut to shoulder length and tied into a ponytail behind her. She stretched. Seoul has been doing Machine's job. It was a pity that he was dead. He could manage this task much fast than she could. She paused when she heard a news report about two White Fang affiliated bullhead drop ships crashing into the Vale docks.

She quickly rolled her chair to another screen and looked through the Nova's surveillance cameras. She scrolled until she found the crash and played it. She saw Kill giving the fight, embracing the spirit of the hunt, but he got sloppy at the end, ignoring a potential threat and choosing to kill the remaining 501st Sergeant. She saw Shadow mercilessly gun down her comrade.

She thought.

She stood up from her station, slipped on her helmet, and strode through the corridors, passing by White Fang soldiers on the way until she reached the private room for the Nova. She entered and found her comrades. Detta was fidgeting with his arm mounted vibroblades, tweaking with the spring loaded mechanism, adjusting the length and striking with it, then repeating the process. Then there was Sio. He had just finished putting his specialized DC-15X together and calibrated the scope and sights. Given the situation, he could remove the scope and shorten the barrel for close range combat, but still keep the same amount of power and accuracy.

"I see you are done catching up with your girlfriends." Sio chuckled.

"You wanna say that to my face?" Seoul threatened.

"If you want me to."

"You want me to gauge your eyes out?" Seoul reached for her twin vibroblades.

"Try it." Sio reached for his beskar combat knife mounted on his left shoulder plate.

"What, we lose five men, now we have to lose more?" Detta stated.

"Shut up daddy's boy." Seoul shot back.

"Excuse me bitch?" Detta stood up.

"Enough!" The oppressing voice of their Commander Shashank echoed through the room. All the Nova quickly turned and stood at attention. "Helmets off please. I wish to see your faces when I talk to you."

The Nova did as they were told. Sio revealed his bald head and Detta had the aurebesh tattoo of '21' on the left side of his forehead above his eyebrow. Shash had the standard Military haircut, along with a scar that ran across his left cheek.

"Report!" He boomed.

Detta started. "I've given Jared something to think about buir it meant father in mandalorian. Detta had always referred to Shash as a father figure. While it was weird, it kept him loyal. "But their teams are back together."

"So they've recovered. And Kill?"

"Kill is dead sir," Seoul stated. Shash turned to her, interested. "Shot to death at the docks by Shadow."

"I see..." Shash mulled the new information over. "Sio, any good news?"

"No sir. The Atlesian military is onto Kill's operations in Atlas." Sio paused, then added, "Although they think it is an isolated incident with some of the gangs in their city, but we should clean it up quickly to lower our chance of exposure."

"Permission to handle the task over there sir!" Seoul stepped forward.

"Negative," Shash replied. "Me and Detta will go there and deal with it. In the mean time, I have a job for both of you here."

"Anything sir."

"Good, because we are moving to phase 3."

**Sorry it took so long to write this Chapter. Near the beginning I procrastinated and then got really busy. I'm almost out of school but until then, your patience is appreciated. But I have a question. Who is your favourite Nova that has been introduced so far? Let us know in the comments. –Testedomega17**

**Frogy here- 23 is coming so stay tuned. Feel free to leave feedback or suggestions. We always think about them. Shadow out.**


	23. Chapter 23

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Shadow woke up relaxed and well rested. It had been a day after he'd been released from the hospital, and a day after several days of hell. He shook of the thought of the Nova Kill. This hunt had really gotten right to Shadow's core, torturing him physically and mentally, but now, he was fully recovered. He got out of bed and paused, realizing this wasn't his room. He relaxed soon after. Since Shadow's room had been torn up, the SBH had it closed off to scan the area for clues. The only other person with clearance to his dorm was Designer. For the time being, he slept in the spare bed that had been left vacant by Titus. He looked around and saw TJ, GT and Jared, fast asleep. Tested had a spare single mattress on the ground temporarily. As soon as the SBH decided to clear up Shadow's dorm, Tested would take Titus's bed. While Shadow had offered it to him, Tested had refused.

Shadow got up and looked over at Tested's bed. It was empty. Where was he? His weapons had been nearly scrubbed and placed beside his bed, the same with his armor (minus the black burnt hole in the lower torso piece). Shadow went over to the bathroom to freshen himself. He eyed the toiletries. Tested's had been touched and the sink was a little wet. He had woken up and refreshed himself, but where did he go? Shadow shrugged off the thought for now and continued with his daily routine. After having a quick shower, he changed into his leisure clothes. By then, everyone else had awoken. They all greeted each other then got ready for breakfast in the cafeteria.

There was a knock at the door. TJ answered it.

"Oh, hi." TJ said as if he was weirded out.

"Good morning sir," Tested greeted and entered. He was wearing his black body glove suit with the Republic Military insignia printed on the front. "I woke up at 6 a.m. sharp, but I didn't want to wake you."

"You woke up at 6?" GT shook his head.

"Yes sir."

"Where did you go?" Shadow asked.

"I went out for a brisk jog sir."

"You went out on a jog... in that?"

"Sir, yes sir." Tested acknowledged.

Shadow face palmed. "Take that damn suit off," He reached into his dresser and pulled out a pair of jeans, a white t-shirt, and gave a spare pair of sneakers. "Wear this."

Tested stared down at the civilian clothing. "Sir-" he started to complain until Shadow cut him off.

"Wear. It. Now."

After everyone got ready, the five of them made their way to the cafe where team RWBY was waiting for them. Shadows waved them good morning then lead his group the lunch counter. He grabbed a tray, plate, and utensils. Breakfast was good today. It had been several days since he had had such delightful food. During his escape from Kill, he had to consume the standard military protein bars. Those things were just utterly tasteless. I can't believe I used to eat those all the time. He thought to himself. His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden nudge.

"Sir, permission to speak?" Tested asked.

Shadow rolled his eyes. "Granted." He shook his head. He noticed a few of the students making awkward stares at him.

"What's this? This doesn't seem like the normal white grub that we normally eat."

Shadow ran his hand through his hair to calm himself down. "This is food Tested." He said in a mocking tone. "You see this?" He pointed to a dish. "This is bacon."

"Sir, just looking at the oil on that, it doesn't seem very healthy or rather good for your health."

Shadow grabbed a handful of bacon and shoved it in his mouth. "Take what you want." He said and put another handful on his plate.

Shadow saw in the corner of his eye that Tested just shrugged and took a handful. That boy is not fitting in at all. Shadow continued his path until he bumped into something. Wait, nothing. All of a sudden, the familiar shape of Designer appeared for a few seconds. He was holding a plate of bacon.

"Watch it you dumb frog." He said before his cloak re engaged.

A few students quickly turned around, seeing the new person appear and disappear. What the fuck? Shadow thought. After shaking off the weird moment, he made his way over to the table, where he saw team RWBY getting up to leave.

"Hey, you guys done already?" Shadow asked.

"Yeah. We were just waiting here to hold the table for you guys." Blake explained.

"Appreciated." Jared came up behind Shadow.

"See you guys later!" Yang waved and the group went off.

After he sat down, he saw Tested rushing over with his plate full of food. "Sir! The food is really good!"

"Yes, sit down and eat." Shadow motioned. "And don't call me sir. You are at ease."

"Okay."

Shadow noticed Tested's eating. He was completely polite and never stopped to talk. It was like this was a task laid out for him to do, and he was determined to finish.

"So, what's happening today?" Jared asked as he sipped a glass of Orange Juice.

"I was thinking that we should actually just go to school today."

"Not worried about the Nova?"

"Yes we should be weary, but Shash is down to three men."

"True, but I thought the same a few days ago when he had four."

"Oh yeah, what did you guys do that night?"

"Uh..." Jared exchanged glances with TJ and GT. "Nothing really eventful."

"Alright."

"So when will we be returning to Coruscant sir?" Tested finally paused his meal to ask.

Shadow and Jared looked at each other.

"We'll talk about the return trip later." Shadow assured.

"Yes sir."

-Sio 3rd Person POV-

Sio was perched at Beacon inside Ozpin's tower. The headmaster would've benefitted with having security systems, and the ones set up by the SBH were only set mainly for the dormitories. But Sio wasn't here to Kill Ozpin. He was on recon. This should've been a job for Detta, but just because Shash took him, and Seoul was attending to Shash's business in Vale, Sio was the ONLY man for the job.

Sio popped the seal on his helmet to chew the tasteless contents of a ration bar. When he finished, he slipped his helmet back on and leveled his DC-15X onto a tripod to oversee the campus. Students were everywhere at this time, on the way to their classes. Sio could've killed six of them before they realized that someone was shooting, but he had specific orders. He was here for Designer. Not to kill him of course, unless he got the chance. Sio knew about Designer's lust for tech and information, so he was going to use that to his advantage. He switched his helmet setting to scan for heat signatures and to cross reference with his normal scope. His HUD could pick up targets showing up on thermal that one wouldn't see with an untrained eye. This made it easy to search for a cloaked individual, such as Designer. Designer wasn't outside, that's for sure. But where was he now?

There was a slight rumble and whirring. He turned up his helmet audio receptors. He knew the sound. He attached a cable to himself and slid back down past the gears and belts from the tower and into Ozpin's office. He looked at the elevator to make sure. Yes. Someone was coming up. He plugged a flash drive into Ozpin's computer and downloaded a ghost virus. When he finished, he attached a motorized grip to his line and slid back up, pulling the rope with him. Then, he waited.

The elevator opened, _empty_. Or was it? Sio activated his thermal. Yes. There was a cloaked person in the room. After a few seconds of clearing the area, he de cloaked and went over to Ozpin's computer. Just as Sio suspected, he copied and downloaded everything from it, including the virus, then left.

Sio smiled to himself in triumph. Designer needed to be removed from the big picture, and he would be. Soon.

-Tested 3rd Person POV-

Tested didn't tell the whole truth about where he had been this morning. He had asked Shadow in the middle of the night where they buried the dead. Shadow answered the question exhaustedly, and if there is any indication in the way he was acting this morning, he did not remember. Tested walked to the hills Shadow had told him about. He saw a stone with a carved "Titus" in it. Tested wasn't the only one to lose men.

Tested looked over at what he did this morning. He had found a stick and jabbed it into the ground, placing Whix's helmet on top. He placed the spare DC-15X magazine that belonged to Have, along with Cal's data pad. A spare DC-15S was tied to the stick, from Don. Everything he had from his fallen squad members, he placed in a crude shrine. They had died for this mission, and Tested was determined to complete it.

He felt a beeping in his side. It was the communication device Shadow had given him. They called it a "scroll", which was rather ironic because scrolls were usually ancient, considering this device was high tech.

He had received a message from Shadow to go to team RWBY's dorm for some education. Tested wondered what type of education this was going to be. He had already learned a lot from plain Kamino training. What could a bunch of civilians teach him?

-Blake 3rd Person POV-

Blake and Yang were sitting around after Weiss and Ruby left to go to class. Their semblance class rather. All was normal until there was a ping on Blake's scroll.

She read the message.

"HELP ME WITH TESTED. HE IS LIKE TOO STANDARD. TEACH HIM STUFF!"

Blake just shrugged until she heard something. Her Faunus hearing could hear armored footsteps outside the hallway. There was a knock at the door a few minutes later. She went and opened the door to find Tested standing there in armor from the waist down and a uniform shirt with a symbol on it.

Tested saluted Blake and said "Hello ma'am Shadow sent me here. He said you could help me. I decided to stop back at my room to change into proper clothing."

Blake face palmed and walked over to Shadows dorm and went into his dresser and got some jeans a t-shirt and some boxers. She walked back into the room and said, "Put these on."

Tested looked down at the clothing. "Err, ma'am-"

"Go." Blake cut him off and pointed towards the bathroom.

Tested seemed like a confused little boy. But he went onto his task anyway.

"Well, he seems pretty awkward." Yang rocked back on a bed.

"Mhm."

"This might be a little fun."

"I don't get how people end up like this."

"Don't worry, my sense of humor can bring anyone to the right mind."

"I'm pretty sure your sense of humor would scare him off."

"There's nothing wrong with 'Yanging' around with Yang!" Yang cheerfully joked.

Blake rolled her eyes. At least she was back to normal.

Tested opened the door changed into his civilian attire. "Ma'am, with your permission I'd like to keep my combat belt."

"Fine."

"You'll look stupid though." Yang piped in.

"It's better to be prepared for combat ma'am." Tested incited.

Blake looked over his belt. It was much like the SBH's, except less high tech and completely white. On the back, there was sheathed vibroblade and on his right side, his DC-15P sidearm. She also noted a number on his belt. 17.

"What's the _17_ for?" Blake asked.

"Favourite number ma'am."

"Why?"

"It's a long story."

"Boring!" Yang yawned. "Come sit here Testy." She patted the bed beside her.

"Yes ma'am." Tested did as he was ordered, although Blake noticed an unorthodox look on his face.

"By the way, call us by our names you dumbnut!" Yang slapped him on the back hard.

Tested lurched forward, then repositioned himself further away from Yang.

"So, when'd you meet Shadow?" Yang leaned back.

"Long story."

"We have the time," Blake pointed out. "You could just shorten it."

"He saved me and Whix-" Tested paused. "My squad mate from a station attacked by the CIS." He corrected.

"CIS?" Yang asked.

"The Confederacy of Independent Systems."

"Shadow never told us about that."

"He may have mentioned the term 'Seppies' or Separatists?"

Blake and Yang stared at him blankly.

"I take that as a no." Tested took the cue. "They were the Republic's biggest enemy and we fought them for three years."

"Three years? How old are you?"

"Eleven, ma'am."

"Eleven?" Yang sat upright and started scanning him.

"Yes, I'm older than Shadow."

"Wait…" Blake asked slowly. "How old is Shadow?"

"Seven, why?"

Yang arched back and started laughing. She continued rolling for several moments. Blake just remained stunned.

"Did he not tell you?" Tested cocked his eyebrow.

"I don't know if you are blind or something, but he obviously looks eighteen."

"That would be his biological age, which is odd."

"How is that odd compared to being seven years old in combat?"

"I'm beginning to wonder that Shadow never told you we are clones."

"Nope, he did." Blake stated.

"Get back to the part where his age is odd." Yang finally managed to speak.

"Clones have accelerated aging, making us age twice as fast as a normal human, which would explain why I look around twenty two about now."

Yang was still attempting to hold in her second array of laughter.

"Continue…" Blake motioned.

"Shadow had a malfunction in his growth jar."

"Growth jar!" Yang burst into another laugh and pointed at Blake.

"Jared was in one too." Tested turned towards her.

Yang paused at that moment then crossed her arms. "Way to go buzz kill." She groaned.

"Shouldn't Jared look twenty as well?"

"We really don't know why he turned out like this, but we never bothered about it because he ended up with Shadow." Tested explained.

"So back onto the topic of Shadow," Blake veered the conversation back on track. "What malfunctions were you talking about with Shadow?"

"Well, for one very noticeable thing, skin tone. He's paler than most. Another would be his biological age, but that was disregarded when he kept passing classes with flying colours." Tested paused. "Although, there is one thing that has never been fully right with him. His mental state."

"What do you mean?" Blake pushed on.

"Shadow was more prone to anger outbursts or emotional thoughts. While one would think these would affect any soldier's combat performance, it seemed to advance him. We don't know why, but the breeders stopped caring when he started to outperform everyone."

"So," Yang broke Tested's train of thought. "Where were you when all of this happened?"

"Serving on an intelligence station before it was lost, then transferred to the 501st under Commander Appo, then making my way to the prestigious Torrent Company."

"Sounds cool."

"Nothing like what the Shadow trooper do, but we've been through the tough campaigns in the war."

"Don't take any offence in this," Blake interrupted. "But you don't seem like the social type. Does Shadow just fit in better or are you just socially awkward in general?"

"Well," Tested was taken aback. "Yes, I admit I'm not exactly well oriented into society, but in my defense, most clones aren't as well. We were not taught to socialize. Shadow is a different story. He's been on undercover operations, out of armor, sometimes in civilized areas. One can easily learn how to blend into that environment."

"Well, it's time you learned." Yang got up. "C'mon Blake, let's take this guy out."

"Where are we going?" Tested asked.

"Anywhere." Yang stated. "Just anywhere."

-Designer 3rd Person POV-

Designer arrived back at his hideout. It was a nice day. The sun was shining, the city was quiet, and there was no one to disturb him. He vaulted over the fence and entered the building, making his way up to the second floor, avoiding his defense systems. He clapped his hands and his systems went online. He walked over to his main database and plugged in his USB. As he moved to open it, a message popped up on his screen.

The message read; "Data corrupted."

Designer frowned at the screen. Corrupted? He scrolled through his files and after a few seconds of scrolling, random files opened on his screen.

What the fuck?

His database was flooded with photos of puppies, blaring all over each screen. The system kept freezing and Designer had no control over it. He overlooked his database from his HUD and found a message reading: "Data copied." He realized he made a mistake because the puppy photos started flooding his helmet, freezing the HUD. Furious, he ripped off his helmet and tossed it away. In front of all the puppy photos, was a message; "Woof, from your friendly neighborhood SBH."

Designer clenched his hands. Good game Shadow… good game...

-Seoul 3rd Person POV-

Shash's connections were growing impatient. His plan was almost ready to be brought into fruition, but his allies have been beginning to lose faith so close to the end. One of them was Roman Torchwick. While Shash was busy cleaning up Kill's recent mess in Atlas, Seoul had to deal with Roman. She met him at his office, the places he chooses to have his meetings. As she was waiting, she noticed something wrong. She took a deeper look of the room just to make sure, activating her observation tools on her HUD. She found shoe prints on the floor that did not belong to Torchwick's normal attire or the Republic standard boot prints. Then she found one other thing, a strand of hair. Just eyeballing it right now, she couldn't determine who or what it belonged to. She pulled out a tiny plastic container on her belt and sealed the strand inside. She then scanned the computer for fingerprints. There was one other set on it other than Torchwick's. She took a scan and left it in the Nova database for later study.

Roman entered the office.

"How many times do I have to tell you guys my rule about meetings?" He sighed.

She clicked her teeth three times, activating a voice changer to make her sound male. "I'd rather keep my helmet on for this one, for my appearance may affect your ability to focus."

"A rule is a rule." He stated flatly. "I'd rather see your face then allow you to dabble around on your helmet systems. Also, there's that 'the eyes are the window to the soul' kind of bullshit."

She sighed and removed her helmet. Roman would've argued all day long to get her to remove it. Roman's expression changed into a quick shock.

"Oh," He said. "I see."

"Just get on with your complaints." Seoul ushered.

"First of all, I expected Shash."

"Shash is busy."

"Where?"

"Our operations in Atlas have been…" Seoul paused to find the right word. "Disturbed."

"I know and that will bring me to my second point. But I prefer to do business with the boss. Not his henchmen-" Roman stopped to correct himself. "Henchwoman."

"I assure you," Seoul held back her anger regarding his statement of distrust. "I can speak for Shash as much as he could speak for himself."

"Mhm..." Roman fiddled with his cane. "Onto my second point. Atlas. What the hell is going on there?"

"Shadow has escaped."

Roman froze and turned to face her. "What do you mean by 'escaped'?"

"He had help from outside sources."

"I thought you had all of Shadow's allies occupied."

"There's been a variable," she explained. "Four soldiers from our military showed up about a month ago. We underestimated their capabilities and they caught us off guard."

"Soldiers," Torchwick stretched the word out. "You say soldiers as if you are implying these are not Special Operations."

"Yes."

"And you wonder why I'm disappointed." He shook his head.

"In our defense, only one of them remains."

"That still doesn't change my point."

"Look Roman," Seoul spoke in her deadly persuasive tone. "Commander Shash's plan is almost ready. Continue to comply, and you will live long enough to see it."

"Shash already threatened me."

"Then I'm wasting my time here." Seoul shoved past Roman and continued to the door. "Shash's word is clear enough. If you have any questions, don't expect them to be answered. If you don't like that, then fuck you."

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Shadow decided to pop by his dorm. He needed to recover his armour and equipment. He stepped under the yellow bordering tape and entered. It felt like it had been so long ago since Shash snatched him from here. There were still scorch marks on the wall from the burning and the area was trashed. He pulled a hidden compartment from under his bed, containing his weapons and ammunition. He placed his DC-17B side arm he recovered from Ruby into its slot and placed the compartment on his bed. His armour compartment wasn't in the same good condition as his equipment. Some of his plates were scattered across the floor. He spent a few moments cleaning them up until he came across his helmet. It was cracked and torn up. The Nova must have tried to download data from it. They had damaged the helmet systems beyond repair in the process. Shadow picked it up and frowned. He removed the data card from its secret insert slot and slipped it into his pocket. When a silhouette appeared on his left he reached for his DC-17B and leveled it at the target.

"Chillax Shadow," Designer's familiar voice seeped through. "It's me."

Shadow smiled. "Really? Didn't you see the yellow tape?"

"Uh, didn't you realize that I don't care about yellow tape?"

"Mhm."

"Are you just going to 'Mhm' a guy who has been sitting here for forty-five minutes waiting for you?"

"Thanks bud." Shadow rolled his eyes. "But wait, forty-five minutes? What did you need me for?"

"One, I was eating, two, I was thinking YOU may need my help."

Shadow was confused until he looked down at his broken helmet.

"Oh, I see. You want to tinker?"

"Eh, sure beats sitting on my ass all day-"

"Spying on my girlfriend?" Shadow pulled Designer's camera from his pocket. "Cleared of data by the way."

"There could've been sensitive data on it-"

"Of what?" Shadow crossed his arms.

Designer was about to speak, then paused. "Well… I only glanced twice."

"Woof." Shadow mocked.

Designer removed his helmet. "I had to scrub through 1000 GB of data to removed all those damn puppy pictures you spammed my computer with."

"You are not the only hacker in this town Dessie."

Designer paused at a small realization. "You copied all my files as well didn't you?"

"I couldn't resist." Shadow chuckled. "By the way, who is Elias?"

"None of your business."

"Really?"

"Yes, Shadow, really, leave that part of my data untouched." Designer gave him an insisting stare.

"I see." Shadow took the cue.

"By the way, how did you hack my systems?"

"Piggybacked your database through your camera. Might want to set up firewalls there."

"I'll do that," Designer gritted his teeth. "But first, let's get to work on planning your new helmet. I'm thinking of a more streamline design, fitted with a better HUD and-"

"I want a hood." Shadow said.

Designer gave him an unorthodox look. "A hood…"

"Yes, preferably a black one."

"A hood…" Designer stretched every syllable.

"Is there something wrong?"

"A hood…"

"Yes Designer, I want a hood."

"You do realize that would make your head completely vulnerable even if someone was using projectiles, and yes, PROJECTILES."

"Maybe you can work something out."

"Even then, you'll still be exposed from the face, not to mention you won't have a HUD-"

"Oh I want the HUD." Shadow explained. "Link it to my armour systems as well."

"... You do realize how hard it is to fit your specifications…"

"You're a creative man Designer, have fun." Shadow patted him on the shoulder and picked up the rest of his gear. "Now if you excuse me, I am going to see my girlfriend."

-Blake 3rd Person POV-

Blake realized Yang was a lot better at this. Her outgoing attitude made her teaching style really effected Tested in a good way, most of the time. But Blake could tell that Tested got creeped out at times. They were finally on maintaining a conversation with someone. All Tested could really talk about were war stories, war tactics, everything about war. Blake kind of felt sorry for him, not knowing anything else. It was weird to contrast how Shadow is used to talking, compared to Tested ranting on about battle.

"Alright, when you greet someone, it is always polite to shake his or her hand."

"Okay." Tested replied.

"You want to try?"

"Sure."

Yang held out her hand and Tested shook it.

"That's a firm grip you've got there." Yang smirked and added a bit of pressure.

Tested lurched forward for his wrist, his mouth opening in silent pain.

"But just don't try that with me." She released him.

"What did I do?" Tested asked, completely oblivious.

Yang chuckled and shook her head.

"Give me a high-five Tested!"

Tested clapped her hand lightly.

"... What was that?" Yang mocked.

"A high -five?..."

"Put your hand up." Yang scoffed. She arced back and gave him a hard one. Tested felt for his hand. "That is a high five."

"Oww…" Tested's hand was red.

"Heh, alright Blake, what's next?" Yang motioned.

"Your call Yang."

"So how's teaching going?" The voice of Shadow came from behind her. She whirled around to see him dressed in his armour.

"Now how do you sneak up on us like that?" Blake sighed.

"Easy-"

"Sir!" Tested stood at attention, saluting him.

"Stop you!" Shadow batted his hand away hard and walked past him towards Blake. Blake looked over to see Tested confused.

"So why are you in armour?" Blake asked.

"You'll see, but just tell Ozpin to gather the students in the combat arena."

"Why?"

"Three people need to be taught a lesson." He smiled.

Blake was confused but nodded anyway.

"See you there." Shadow said and turned to leave. Just as he turned, he found Tested reaching for a handshake. Once again, he batted his hand away. "We've already met you fool!" He scoffed as he continued on his path.

Tested just looked down at his hand confused, then looked up at Yang who was already giggling.

"You lied to me?" Tested asked.

"Nope. You've just gotta know when to do it."

"And when is that?"

"You'll know," Yang assured. "So, should we head over to Ozpin's?"

"Yeah, I guess." Blake shrugged.

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

Jared had just arrived back from class and was at his dorm with GT and TJ. They were just about to start a board game when there was a knock at the door. Jared looked at GT and TJ. They both stared back.

"Fine, I'll get it." Jared sighed.

He got up and opened the door. Glenda Goodwitch was standing there.

"Oh, Miss Goodwitch," Jared stood more formally. "What brings you here?"

"Hello Jared. Ozpin would like you, GT, and TJ to go to the combat prep room." She explained. "Come in armour."

"For what purpose?"

"I don't know, but I wouldn't keep Ozpin waiting."

"Umm, okay. Thanks for the heads up."

Glenda nodded and left. Jared shut the door.

"So who was it?" GT asked.

"Glenda," Jared answered. "She said Ozpin wants to speak to us at the Arena."

"Why?" TJ cocked his eyebrow."

"She doesn't even know, but Ozpin wants us in armour."

"Hmm…." GT stroked his chin.

"It is Ozpin." TJ shrugged.

"Yeah, we should go." Jared stated.

"Agreed." GT piped in.

The three of them got into their armour and made their way to the combat prep room. The hallways were for some reason empty. Jared knew there were classes in session but this was a bit much. Finally they walked into the combat prep room where they found Ozpin waiting.

"Hello gentlemen." Ozpin greeted.

"Hello Professor," Jared greeted back. "You wanted to see us?"

"Yes," Ozpin cleared his throat. "You will be taking a part in a combat exercise today so non-lethal weapons only."

"A combat exercise regarding what?" GT asked.

"And who?" TJ piped in.

"Just enter the arena and all your questions will be answered." Ozpin motioned.

The three exchanged glances then entered. There they found where most of the students were. They were in the stands.

"What the?" Jared was shocked.

Jared's eyes found Yang in the stands. She got up and did her normal perky wave. Jared waved back with less enthusiasm.

"Don't worry Jared," TJ nudged him. "We can probably handle whatever is going to be thrown at us."

All of a sudden, the door shut behind them, followed by a voice. "You know when Ozpin said non-lethal?" Jared turned and saw Shadow. "Screw that, give me everything you three have."

"Oh crap." TJ slumped.

"You jinxed it brother." GT shoved him.

"Hey… Shadow…." Jared spat out the words. "What are you doing here?"

"To remind you that we have rules." He answered, and cracked his knuckles.

"Is this a fight?"

"Nope," Shadow smirked. "It's a beat down."

-Shadow, Jared, TJ, &amp; GT Collective POV-

Shadow lunged forward at Jared first. Jared spun and sidestepped, avoiding the hit. Jared spun around for a counter but Shadow was already in his arc. Shadow's arm caught Jared by the neck. Jared scrambled to release the grip but he was already flying through the air and crashing into the wall. There was a loud "oooooooh" in the background as he impacted.

Jared after rubbing his head for a few seconds, looked up at the fight. TJ was in a headlock and GT was flat on his back, Shadow's foot on his chest. Jared drew his Katanas at this point and charged. Shadow was a tough guy; he could take blade, to a certain extent. He ran forward, his Katanas sliding against the arena floor. He jumped and spun into a dual bladed attack. Wham! Shadow threw TJ at Jared, knocking him back. GT rolled over and threw himself at Shadow's gut for support. Shadow threw him off. Jared lunged in for a sweep but Shadow jumped over it. Jared spun and brought his Katana's into a downward stroke. Shadow was caught off guard and had to step back to avoid it. Jared saw his opportunity and went in for another strike. This time, Shadow caught Jared by the wrists. His head arched back and impacted Jared in the front of his skull. While Jared was stunned, Shadow slammed his fists into Jared's, disarming him.

GT drew his sidearm. After double-checking his weapon was on stun, he fired. Shadow sidestepped and evaded the attack. GT kept firing while TJ flanked from the rear. Shadow backed up into TJ's tackle. GT took aim. When he fired, Shadow rolled out of the way. GT had to be careful not to hit TJ.

TJ reached over Shadow's neck and put him into a chokehold. He brought his other arm behind Shadow to lock the hold. Shadow didn't let him. TJ felt a sharp pain in his side as Shadow elbowed him in his ribs. Shadow rolled off of him and gave him a hard punch in the face.

Shadow grabbed TJ's sidearm and threw it at GT, hitting him in the shoulder. He sprinted forward, getting close and personal. When GT leveled his weapon once more, Shadow shoved it to a safe area. GT threw a punch. Shadow deflected it and grabbed him by the forearm. He reeled GT close and backhanded him hard. Shadow spun and side kicked him down. Jared was back up. He spun into a roundhouse kick but Shadow caught it. He brought his elbow over and connected it with his pelvis with a crunch. Jared grunted in pain and collapsed to his knees. Shadow threw a hard punch to his gut to make sure he stayed down. He looked around. TJ was flat on his back running his cheek, GT was on his stomach finding the strength to get up and Jared was on his side clutching his pelvis.

"Thanks for the exercise boys." Shadow cracked his neck. He then knelt beside Jared and whispered, "You could've at least saved me a drink."

-Sio 3rd Person POV-

Sio was on over watch for Seoul, his favourite position. He was up atop a water tower while Seoul was behind a garbage bin outside a building. He scanned the area with his custom DC-15X's heavily modified scope. It wasn't really a scope. It was a small monitor with a sensor array forming crystal clear images. It was a masterpiece of technology and one the best tech he had ever worked up. The scope was even EMP resistant and never glitched.

"Status?" Seoul's concentrated voice came up on the commlink.

"Perched," he replied. "Ready to provide backup if necessary."

"Is he here?"

"Nope. You're all clear. Don't worry, I've got a nice view."

"Stop staring at my ass." Seoul's voice changed to a chilling tone.

"Pfft," Sio scoffed. "There's nothing to look at."

"Then stop staring."

"Just because you happen to be a girl doesn't mean-"

"Sio I can fucking see what you are looking at through your helmet camera."

Sio was taken aback. "Well, you don't have to take the fun out of things."

"Just keep me covered."

"Roger that ma'am."

Then Sio saw two henchmen come out of the building. The looked around, making sure there was no danger.

"You have two bodyguards up ahead," Sio warned. "Lightly armed."

"Threat?"

"Negative," Sio took his finger off the trigger. "They're going to get the car."

"Anyone else?"

Sio drew his attention to the building rear entrance. "Four more guards, armed with dust rifles, semis, two more of them with automatics. Two melees, swords."

"Heh," Seoul chuckled. "He knows what we are capable of."

"Please," Sio shook his head. "If he knows what we are capable of, he should've brought more guards."

"Let's do this silently." Seoul placed a suppressor on her DC-15S carbine.

Sio acknowledged and slipped on his silencer and changed his ammo to his invisible ones.

"Take out the automatics." Seoul ordered.

"Dropping em now." Sio responded and took out the two guards carrying automatic dust weapons with headshots. He fired so fast that the bodies almost dropped at the same time. Seoul was already mobilizing.

-Seoul 3rd Person POV-

The guards were confused at the dropped bodies. It was almost too easy for her to shoot down three of the riflemen. She dived forward and caught sight of her target. Junior. He was scrambling at his men to hand him his main weapon. The dust rifleman took aim at her. She leaped straight at him, feeling the force of the dust round shoot past her. She shoved her DC-15S in his face and fired.

She heard the footsteps of the two guards who had gotten the car behind her. She ignored them. Sio had it. She instead turned her attention to the swordsmen. The charged her faster than she anticipated. She knew she couldn't take the shot fast enough. She leaped back, avoiding their first attack and clipped her DC-15S to her belt. She reached down to her shins and unsheathed her twin vibroblades. She slid the first attacker's blow off to the side and ducked under the second swordsman's attack. She ran her blade through his stomach, spilling blood. The man stumbled back. The other attacker launched a flurry of attacks. Seoul dodged and weaved five of them before she got inside and sliced the back of his kneecaps. He fell to his knees as she stabbed him in the back of the neck. The other attacker dropped his sword and picked up one of the automatic dust weapons. He vaulted over her recent kill and turned her body right, avoiding the first few bursts. Then she leaped and threw herself over his shoulder, jabbing one of her vibroblades up his jaw. She reeled him back and set his body down. The other two guards were dead with smoking holes in the back of their heads.

"Rear!" Sio called.

Seoul whirled around and saw Junior air his RPG. He dropped to one knee when a bolt tore through his leg. Seoul threw one of her vibroblades into his right forearm. He screamed in pain and dropped the launcher. Seoul walked up to him and kicked him over. She sloppily pulled out her vibroblades from his forearm, inflicting as much pain as possible.

"Hello Junior." Seoul greeted.

"What are you doing?" He stammered desperately. "I haven't done anything wrong!"

"Yes, you haven't."

Two more henchmen came through the door and dropped almost instantly. Sio was certainly doing his job.

"Such a shame." She sighed. "Now back to business."

"Look I didn't do any business from you!"

"But now you will." She said assertively. "You are going to transfer four hundred thousand lein into Vale bank account S045C5-19 by 10 p.m. tomorrow night."

"Or?" Junior asked cautiously.

Seoul brought her vibroblade to his neck. "Or I will kill you, then take everything you have."

Seoul applied a bit of pressure, making small cut near his throat before she slipped away, leaving him oblivious to the way she escaped. She sheathed her vibroblades on her shins and made a swirling motion in the air, signaling Sio to pack up.

"Mission accomplished?" He asked over the commlink.

"Probably, but shadow him tomorrow night. If he doesn't do as he is asked, drop him."

Seoul heard him grind his teeth in amusement. "With pleasure." He added.

"I've got another thing to take care of. Can you run the recon?"

"I thought we were going to wait for Shash first?"

"We will, but I want the recon done for him when he gets back."

"This is Detta's job." He groaned.

"Just do it."

"Roger that ma'am."

-Blake 3rd Person POV-

Shadow decided to take team RWBY out for lunch. He had taken them to Stake Shack, a small diner near the quiet side of town.

"I thought it'd be a nice place to talk and catch up." He added.

Shadow led them inside and asked for a booth. Everyone was in his or her normal attire; it wasn't a formal meeting. The only weapons Shadow was carrying were his Kyber crystal powered wrist blades. After they ordered their meals, they started talking. Topics ranged from the past few days to how their day was. Then Yang started telling terrible jokes.

"Yang, please stop." Blake face palmed.

"Yes, please do." Weiss chimed in.

"That's cold Weiss." Yang snickered.

Everyone groaned at the joke.

"What if I brought up your incident with Jared?" Weiss crossed her arms with a smirk.

Yang shot her a glare. "You're no fun." She scoffed then turned her attention to Shadow. "So, growth jars…" She chuckled.

Shadow shot straight up in shock. He gave Yang an unorthodox look.

"What are you guys talking about?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, what are you talking about Yang?" Shadow asked carefully.

"Oh, Tested told us things," Yang answered. "He's older than you?"

Shadow shook his head and face palmed.

"Yes." He finally said. Shadow continued and explained. Yang added a few more details, prolonging the conversation. "Is that all that Tested told you?" Shadow finished.

"Yep, sounds about right."

"Well I'll be getting on Tested's ass." Shadow leaned back in slight embarrassment.

"I thought you wanted to get at Blake's?" Yang nudged her. Blake glared at her.

"Oh but Jared's been on yours huh?" Shadow shot back.

Ruby gasped at the sudden realization from Weiss's references. "Yang!"

"It wasn't! -" Yang started but was cut off by Shadow raising his hand. Shadow leaned in closer to her so only she could hear.

"Dessie left a camera in my room." He whispered. "Nasty stuff..."

Yang tensed in embarrassment.

"As much as we'd all love to go over Yang's personal life," Blake nudged her. "I'd like to change the subject."

"Shoot." Yang urged, satisfied with the topic change.

"I was wondering about the Nova. How many are left now and what are they capable of?"

"Whoa," Shadow stopped her. "Look, the Nova threat is real and we have to face it, but let's give it one day to just catch up."

"We did have the days when you were gone." Ruby shrugged.

"Yeah, but I went through torture and a hunt, and in that hunt, I was the prey."

"Don't puss out on us Shadow," Yang teased. "You came back completely fine."

"Oh yeah, what happened to Jared?" Shadow asked with a sarcastic tone. "Yeah your boyfriend got his ass whooped."

"Hmph." Yang glared.

"Anyways, how is Tested going?" Shadow asked curiously.

"He's..." Blake paused and exchanged glances with Yang. "Okay?"

"Ugh..."

"He's rather weird." Yang blurted out.

"Mmm." Shadow acknowledged. "He saved my life though, and has shown a great amount of courage and determination, even at the loss of his squad."

"He had a squad?"

"He was sent to retrieve my team and the Nova. His team consisted of eight men. I've only met three others."

"Where are they?" Ruby asked.

Shadow looked up at her and frowned lightly. "I just said he showed a great amount of courage and determination, even at the loss of his squad. What do you think that implies?"

"It means they're dead you dunce!" Weiss scolded.

"I'm sorry." Blake felt for his hand.

"I'm not the one who just lost their squad." Shadow reassured he was fine.

"He deserves a medal." Yang joked with a hint of sorrow.

"For a standard infantry grunt," Shadow chuckled. "He did mighty fine."

"You should consider adding him to your squad." Ruby suggested.

"He would be taking Titus's place," Weiss agreed slowly. "But if you like him that much you might as well."

Shadow thought carefully. "He doesn't exactly seem like SBH material."

"Then teach him." Blake piped in.

Shadow paused a full ten seconds before speaking again. "You know, we'll see." He answered.

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

Jared, GT, and TJ had to watch Tested. Yang was right about him being socially awkward. During the board game, he was really competitive and wanting to win. Although it was rather funny how he sneered every time he did something good, it was way too weird for Jared. He also had really great posture, always streamline and never slouching. Jared could've sworn he was waiting for him to say "at ease". At least Yang got him to call people by name informally.

But Jared didn't want to deal with more crap today. Instead, he and the others we're going to take Tested on something he will completely understand. Combat training. First they went to the gym to warm up. Tested went straight for the pull up bar.

"Best weight that you can train yourself with was your own." He said.

"Whatever you say." Jared shrugged and went for the dumbells. He nodded at TJ and GT as they went for the bench press.

Tested was actually pretty fit. It wasn't a big surprise because he was military, and he wasn't anything special compared to the SBH. Although he seemed to have done a bit of extra training in his spare time.

After about half an hour, they went to the training room.

"Alright Tested," Jared sighed. "What weapons do you use?"

"DP23 shotgun, DC-17B, and I carry a vibroblade in case of up close encounters."

"So you don't carry anything else?"

"My weapons are already standard Republic issue."

"Yeah you see these?" Jared pulled out his Katanas. "These mean screw Republic issue. I'll get to work Designer with you and well enhance your blasters. "

"What do you mean by enhance?" Tested asked.

"Are you familiar with dust?" Jared asked. Tested had a blank expression on his face. Jared sighed. "Do some reading later."

"Yes sir."

GT unsheathed his vibroblade. "So how proficient are you with these?"

"I've had combat training, but it's never been my preference."

"Let's do a practice. Just shut off the battery in your blade so it doesn't cut through the armor."

Tested nodded. GT and him both removed their helmets and left their other weapons off to the side.

"Tested, don't hold back." GT warned.

Tested threw the first strike, going in two downwards slashes at GT's torso. GT easily backed up and parried the blows. He went for a strike for Tested chest but Tested ducked then came in an upward slash. GT blocked the blow and traded his vibroblade into his free hand. Tested quickly grabbed GT's wrist. Smart move. Jared thought. GT twirled his hand onto Tested's armed forearm and brought Tested's blade into a safe zone. He then twirled his other arm, freeing himself from Tested's grasp. He released Tested and shoved him back. Tested lunged forward, hoping to catch GT off guard but GT countered by bringing Tested's attack over his shoulder and flipping him flat on his back. GT placed his blade against Tested's neck.

"Nice try," GT said and helped him up. "But I was going easy on you."

"It's never been my specialty." Tested explained.

"Well you aren't terrible yet." Jared assured. "Let's have a go."

"Jared, if I didn't do well against GT, I doubt I'll fare better against you."

"You know Tested," Jared smirked. "You need to stop thinking logically sometimes. Just shut up and fight."

Tested shrugged and did as he was told. They both got into ready position and Jared waited for the first strike. Tested lunged and through a backhand slash. Jared sidestepped and through a slash at his torso. It skimmed off the armour.

"Don't leave yourself open." Jared twirled his vibro. "Stick behind your knife."

Tested nodded then launched a flurry of blows. The attacks ranged from stabs and overhead slashes. Jared ducked over one slash and struck Tested in the lower gut.

"Now you're getting predictable." Jared warned.

Tested spun into a backhand that Jared had to block. Jared tried to armlock him but Tested shook him off and shouldered him in the chest.

"Good shake." Jared said right before Tested slashed at him.

Jared decided to end it. As Tested attempted at another slash, Jared got under the attack and behind Tested, kicking the back of his knee. Tested dropped into a crouch and Jared brought the blade to his neck.

"End." Jared stepped away. "You aren't that bad Tested."

Tested sheathed his vibro and stood. "You don't have to be modest."

"Well," Jared corrected himself. "You aren't terrible."

"Are we going to get to swords now?" GT cracked his knuckles.

"I was wondering. Where did you get those?" Tested pointed at the SBH's extra weapons.

Jared, GT and TJ exchanged glances.

"We got them when we arrived here," Jared explained. "Although, they are not the most bizarre things we've received."

"They aren't Military grade."

"Like I said, screw Republic issue."

"Enough about us Tested," TJ interrupted. "Now how did you get here?"

The group sat down as Tested told his story.

"After the 21st Nova were sent to retrieve you, the Special Operations Brigade didn't want to spare any more elite commando teams. Coincidentally, the 501st service Venator that I was stationed on was close by the planet so High Command dispatched our best men. Due to the fact that the Republic insurgency has proven more difficult to put down, they didn't want to waste more men on these escapades. If my team didn't return, the mission would be declared unsafe and everyone who disappeared would be listed KIA."

"Pssh," GT chuckled. "Glad to know HighCom has a lot of faith in us."

"Let him finish." TJ stopped his brother and motioned Tested to continue.

"We touched down on the planet and discovered an artifact, presumably you saw it too. It ended up transporting me and my squad to this planet, but, it also revealed what had happened to you five," Tested paused. "Or four. About half of my squad made it through the dangerous and volatile forests and we managed to get inside a city named Atlas."

"Where you retrieved Shadow." Jared linked the story. "You must have been in Atlas for a month. Did the Nova, like, not run into you or something?"

"We ran into them." Tested made a stern face. "Their reaction to our arrival confirmed news of their betrayal. Me and the remainder of my team hid in Atlas the best we could and managed to evade them."

"How did you find Shadow?" GT asked curiously.

"The Nova believed to be in charge of operations in Atlas, 'Kill', seemed to have slipped up on discreetness."

"Hold up," Jared paused him. "Look Shash and his men are a bunch of pricks, we know that, but they don't just 'slip up'."

"He was being careful with keeping his operations discreet," Tested explained. "But I truly think he underestimated us."

"No offense Tested," GT nudged Jared. "But it's possible, personally I wouldn't think much of a bunch of 501st troopers."

"Mhm." Jared nodded. "Well I think I can speak for the three of us when I say thank you for bringing our leader back, and we acknowledge the sacrifices and the lengths you and your team has been through to help."

"Just doing my duty," Tested shrugged. "I can say the same for my team." Tested paused, remembering something. "Do you three know of Shadow's... abilities?"

"His fire," Jared rephrased. "Yeah. We can do things too."

"Like?"

"I can slow down time as long as I take in a deep breath." Jared winked.

"I don't know exactly what I can do, but it's somewhere along the lines of disintegration." TJ said.

"And I don't know what I can do." GT tilted his head in sorrow.

"By the way," Jared explained. "Out of team RWBY, Ruby has her speed, Weiss has glyphs, Blake can make decoys of herself, and Yang take intake the energy of her opponents attacks and use it against them."

"So..." Tested comprehended. "You all have these abilities?"

"-Semblances. " Jared corrected. "We call them semblances."

"Does the Nova have them?"

"We don't know. When the artifact transported us here, it may have given us the abilities and extra weapons we have. We don't know if the Nova have it, or if you do."

"I think I should definitely do some reading." Tested made a confused face.

A beep came from Jared's scroll. He looked at the message.

"Not tonight soldier boy." He smirked and showed the others. "Dinner at (restaurant)."

-Seoul 3rd Person POV-

Seoul had just returned from her last deal of the night. She stepped off the white fang affiliated bullhead drop ship and ordered the pilot to head back to Vale. Sio would need a pick up. In her free time, she could find out who else was using Torchwick's computer. She didn't want to give Shash complications this close to the end. A white fang officer stopped her on the way inside.

"Sir-"

"Ma'am." Seoul cut him off with a chilling tone.

"Sorry ma'am."

"What is it?"

"We found a scouting party of soldiers from the Atlesian Military. They got onto the island."

"Take me to them." Seoul groaned.

The white fang officer led her to the makeshift prison. There, she found four soldiers blindfolded and stripped of their armour and weapons, only wearing their black body suits.

"Who is the highest rank here?" Seoul snarled.

"The Lieutenant." The white fang officer answered and pointed.

Seoul walked over and removed his blindfold. "Do you know who I am son?"

"No." The Lieutenant answered unfrightened.

"Exactly." Seoul popped the seal on her helmet and placed it on the ground. "Now what is your name?"

The Lieutenant was silent.

"Answer." Seoul did not raise her voice, but chilled it to a tone that could creep down anyone's spine.

"Lieutenant Jeffrey Stevens."

"That's better." Seoul placed her hand against his cheek. "How did you find this place?"

"My team was scouting the area and we read strange signals coming from here. We decided to investigate."

"So no one leaked this location to you?" Seoul locked her eyes with his. "I can tell if you lie."

"Will you let my men live?"

"Not if you lie."

The soldier made a gamble in his head, deciding whether to trust her or not. Either way, Seoul wasn't going to give him a choice.

"Let my men go and I will answer any question you ask." He finally spoke. "That's my deal."

"Accepted." Seoul agreed. "Now, was this location leaked to you?"

"No."

Seoul continued staring into his bright blue eyes. She felt a slight attraction to them, but in the end, nothing could stop her from remaining on task. She waited for a tell, anything that could signify a lie. Shash had always told her that the eyes are the best way to read a man.

After she was satisfied that he wasn't lying. She leaned in close to his ear, close enough that she could feel his breath travelling down the side of her neck. "Thanks for telling the truth." She whispered, the stabbed one of her vibroblades into his gut.

She felt the man lurch forward in pain, leaning on her shoulder. He gasped in pain and agony. Then Seoul twisted the blade and dug it deeper, until his breathing stopped. She yanked her vibroblade from his torso and let the blood pour out onto the floor. She sheathed her vibroblade and turned to the white fang officer as she slipped her helmet on.

"Hang him at General Ironwood's school for all to see," she barked on her way out. "Then kill the rest!"

As she entered the made complex, she heard the discharge of dust rounds as the prisoners we're executed. She made her way to the tech room and pulled out her samples. All of a sudden she was interrupted by a message on one of the screens. Shash was hailing her. She rolled the chair closer and answered the hail.

"Yes Commander?" Seoul greeted.

"Seoul," Shash removed his helmet. "Report."

"All the mess that was made has been cleaned up here." Seoul allowed a thin smile. "Just need to get operations back on schedule and we will be ready."

"Good work. Detta and I are just finishing up here. We'll be back in about four days."

"Understood. HQ, out." She closed the line and returned to her DNA samples, right until she received another hail, this time from Sio.

_For fuck sake._

"What is it Sio?" She answered. "Did you finish?"

"Yes, but look what I found." Sio was showing his helmet camera through his sniper scope. It showed the two groups, team RWBY and the SBH, all at dinner. "So tempting to pick them off."

"Hold fire Sio." Seoul ordered. "You can take out six of them at most. The rest could take cover and easily overwhelm you."

"Roger."

"Mark your position. There is a dropship waiting to pick you up and bring you back to base."

"Copy that. Sio out."

-Blake 3rd Person POV-

Blake was at her dorm with the rest of team RWBY. They had all received a message from Shadow about a dinner party for all of them to attend. It was going to be a formal event so the team wore their dresses.

"First it was just lunch, now it's a formal dinner?" Ruby asked.

"Ruby, don't wear your hood." Yang sighed.

"Why not?"

"Because you are wearing a dress."

Ruby grumbled and went to select her attire.

"I agree with Ruby," Weiss chimed in. "It is a bit sudden for Shadow to be a lot more socializing; not that he wasn't before."

"Yes, it's not normal for him," Blake acknowledged. "But that isn't stopping us from going right?"

"Right!" Yang answered cheerfully. "Now let's get going!"

After everyone got changed, they headed over to the address that Shadow gave them. The four of them wore their favourite colours; Ruby wore red, Weiss wore white, Blake wore black and Yang wore yellow. When they arrived, they found team TJGJ and Tested waiting at the door to enter. Jared, GT and TJ wore everything black. Their shoes, blazers and even dress shirts were black. Tested wore black dress shoes, black dress pants, a white dress shirt with a dark blue tie along with a black vest. He made a makeshift, discreet holster on the back of his belt for a DC-17B sidearm. He seemed to always be prepared.

Blake looked up at the restaurant name. _"Champion's Court"._ This was certainly a formal restaurant.

"Hi guys!" Yang waved at the other group.

"Greetings ma'am." Tested nodded in a slight bow to all of them.

Jared rolled his eyes at him. "Hello ladies, you all look wonderful tonight." He said.

"I could say the same." Shadow came out of the restaurant. "Well come in all of you, our table is ready."

The restaurant was larger on the inside and was lowlights near the eating areas. Shadow led them to a long table and everyone took a seat. (It was a long table with four seats on each side and one at the end. Shadow took the seat at the end while the SBH + Tested sat on one side; Jared being the closest, and team RWBY on the other side with Blake being the closest.

"Now," Shadow spoke. "The reason I called this dinner is to say that we will be going back on the offensive tomorrow."

"What do you mean?" Jared asked.

"We've taken some rather large hits lately by Shash and his men," he explained. "We lost friends, and nearly lost companions. We've also lost a lot of time with figuring out what Shash's endgame is. Now it's time to pick up the pace, and deal some serious payback."

"Now we're talking." Yang rubbed her hands together with a grin.

"Are we going to be talking about battle strategy sir?" Tested asked.

"Nope," Shadow frowned at the title of 'sir'. "I just thought it would be nice to have a little calm before the storm."

"Because that went well for us before." Jared joked.

"I wasn't here before."

Jared was about to comment on Shadow's smart remark, but then replied with, "Touché."

"Alright, so first, I want to acknowledge a new member to our group, Tested, who by the way can now apparently dress formally; congrats to you." Shadow paused to let the joke sink in. "So Tested, while we have a lot of things to introduce to you, why don't you tell us a bit about yourself."

"Thank you for the acknowledgement sir-" Tested paused to correct himself when he saw Shadow glaring at him. "-Shadow. In the Republic Military in which Shadow may have explained to you about, I am a Sergeant in the 501st legion and part of the legion's prestigious and experienced Torrent Company reporting directly to Commander Appo. I've served a year in the Clone Wars and the rest battling the insurrectionist forces." He turned to Shadow. "Me and my team of seven other troopers were sent to retrieve the SBH troopers, along with Shash's 21st Nova ARCs. My squad didn't make it as we rescued Shadow from the Nova ARC Kill."

"Who was part of your squad?" Jared asked. "What were their names?"

"The ones who died before meeting Shadow; Jag, Sabre, Cal and Have. The ones that Shadow met; Don, Vin and Whix."

"They were good men," Shadow mentioned. "Like Tested, they were good men."

There was a brief silence before the table started to erupt with conversation. Even when the food came, the group talked endlessly, catching up on what they missed. Yang conveyed her endless array of terrible puns, even coming up with the idea of "tearable puns" on paper strips. At the same time they helped Tested learn more socially. Everyone just had fun.

At a point, Blake noticed Shadow head outside. She got up and followed him. She found him standing near the entrance reading a message on his scroll.

"Shadow?" Blake called him.

"Hmm? Oh, yes Blake?" He responded.

"Is everything alright?"

Shadow smiled. "Everything is fine. A little more than fine I'd say." He turned and motioned to the group through the window. "We needed this. Just look at us all having a great time. Even Tested, despite the tragedies he has recently received."

"Then why did you leave?"

"It's just a message I got from Designer."

"Is something wrong?"

"No, not at all." Shadow placed his hands around her waist to reassure her. "I just asked him to do something."

Blake smiled and placed her hands around his neck. "You seem different."

"What do you mean?"

"You seem a lot more socializing than before."

"Is this different in a bad way?"

"No, a good way."

Shadow searched for the right words to explain. "That experience," he started. "The past few days; on the run from Kill, made me really appreciate things more. Now I barely knew Tested or his men but they have saved my ass more then a few times like I was their brother. Instead of mourning their loss, I thank and honor them for their sacrifice."

"That sounds almost selfish." Blake cocked her eyebrows.

"No," Shadow chuckled. "It's not. It's not selfish at all. In fact, it's optimistic. Before I would always mourn a death, mourn a life I couldn't save. What if that's not the best thing to do?" Shadow paused to take a deep breath. "Don't mourn your fellow comrade. Honor them by pushing on."

Blake gave him a good kiss and hugged him. Shadow had found his happy place. He was together again. He was a new person now, and Blake wanted him to stay that way.

"Let's head back inside." Blake suggested when she released him.

"Definitely." Shadow replied.

-Chapter 24 is on its way. The one year anniversary of this story is this Saturday so get excited for that. Anyways I will see you next chapter.

-Shadow out-


	24. Chapter 24

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Shadow has received a message last night from Designer. He had called Shadow to his dorm to meet. When Shadow arrived at his dorm, he found Designer standing near the desk with a metallic briefcase.

"Time for presents, Shadow?"" Designer joked.

"It's not even my birthday." Shadow played along.

"Well, no one remembers your shitty birthday anyway."

Shadow was dressed in his armour, minus his broken helmet. He was here for the tech Designer had worked up for him. Designer set the briefcase on the desk and flicked open the locks.

"Don't worry," he assured as he lifted the case open. "It's black."

Inside the case, he saw his hood, surrounded by foam padding. He looked off to the sides and saw accessories to be added.

"It'll lock onto the rims of your neck opening of your chestplate." Designer explained.

Shadow lifted it. "It's rather stiff." He said displeased.

"It'll more around more flexibly when you activate it."

"What are the accessories?"

"They need to be added once we get the hood on."

Shadow unravelled the stiff hood and attached it to his armour. To his surprise, they locked firmly with a magnetic click.

"Electromagnetic locks." Designer explained. "Don't worry, they are EMP resistant and can be removed by the user."

"Interesting." Shadow slid his hood over his head.

"Alright," Designer said. "I'm going to place the attachments into your hood. Try to remain relaxed but don't move."

Shadow nodded. Designer grabbed two slim pieces of metal and clung them to the areas closest to Shadow's eyes. There was a brief second where an electrical zap was heard and Shadow's vision blasted into different colours then faded into nothing. Designer assured that it was an initializing runthrough. Designer reached around Shadow's neck to an area just behind his neck and attached an oval shaped microchip. He placed a protective cover on it and connected a wire into Shadow's armour, feeding all the way to a small power supply on his belt.

"All good?" Shadow asked.

"Well, you might want to implant your previous helmet chip." Designer suggested.

Shadow handed the chip to Designer and Designer inserted it into the compartment in the back of the hood.

"Okay, almost ready." Designer promised. "First things first, what type of hue to you want?"

"Hue?" Shadow asked confused.

"I added a HUD," Designer motioned to the small metal parts inside the hood closest to his eyes. "Super pain in the ass to do but totally worth it. Now what colour do you want the tint of it to be?"

Shadow thought about his old helmet. "Red." He chose.

Designer pulled out his data pad and pinged a few buttons. Shadow felt the hood attachments vibrate slightly for a few seconds.

"Alright," Designer said. "Same as your old helmet to activate the HUD, blink twice."

Shadow did as he was told. When he blinked, everything powered up. The edges of Shadow's eye sight rimmed lightly with a red hue. He looked around. Everything seemed to change colour and contrast, adjusting for perfect vision. He also noticed the hood became light and flexible. He felt the material. It was weird. It was like fiddling with leather, but with a cool reassuring feel of metal. It was like a normal fabric hood.

"What is the material?" Shadow asked.

"Unnamed." Designer shrugged. "Intelligence committee found it on the black market for a high price. Mack's SBH team went there personally to detain it. Luckily I managed to get my hands on it."

"How tough is it?"

"A bit tougher than your plastoid helmet." Designer remarked. "At an angle, it can deflect blaster rounds. Although a shot and point blank range or even just a straightforward shot will penetrate it. You are good against projectiles and most dust weapons and it isn't flammable."

"Interesting." Shadow moved his head as if he were in combat, turning and ducking quickly. It moved well.

"Yeah, I was planning on using it to make Kamas and Pauldrons, but I thought I could spare some for you."

"What else?"

Designer chuckled. "Move your chin forward, as far as you can."

Shadow did as he was told. Several settings popped up when he released.

"These are tactical instruments." Designer explained. "Like your extra functionality in your old helmet, I installed the targeting system to line up with your weapons, not that you have or will use it. You still have the ammunition counter, and it will comprehend your dust settings. I also took the liberty of adding a motion tracker."

Shadow looked down to the bottom left corner of his vision and saw a small red radar.

"Range is 20 ft. By the way it is a motion tracker and will sense motion so if your opponent is not moving then he won't show up." Designer warned. "If your system knows someone is a friendly, they will show up as a green blip on the radar. Everything else shows up as blue. That brings me to the Friend or Foe system. The system can identify friendlies and is set up to all of your allies. For the SBH, Tested and I, it will pick up the data from our armour systems to identify. For anyone else or if we aren't wearing armour, it can identify using facial features or silhouettes."

"Can it pick up hostiles?"

"Depends. If it is Shash or the Nova, maybe only on the motion tracker. If also on FOF, then he will show up as a foe."

"Anything else in terms of tactical settings?" Shadow asked.

"If you wink your right eye, you get night vision, left, thermal imaging."

"No low light setting?"

"It's always on low light. You may have noticed your HUD changes the contrast on darker areas. For brighter areas it is vise versa."

"I love the HUD." Shadow was impressed. "I'm a bit concerned about it lighting up dark spaces."

"The HUD is a fast processing hologram right in front of your eye. While it may seem obvious and bright to you, in the dark, it it very dim and doesn't give off enough light to be any sort of beacon for your opponents to shoot at. You also have a camera, like always."

Shadow blinked twice and the HUD shut off. The hood still remained flexible though.

"Don't worry about the power supply or anything. Unless you stick a thermal on it, it won't break easily." Designer promised.

Shadow looked in the mirror. It was a mix between an archer shape and a low profile hood. It ran over his eyes, just enough to hide them in shadow but allow perfect vision for him. Shadow pulled back the hood and placed his arm on Designer's shoulder.

"Thank you." Shadow smiled. "You did an amazing job."

"I'll admit," Designer shrugged. "It is some of my best work, so don't break it."

Shadow chuckled. "If you need help with anything, just ask."

"I've got myself covered Shadow," Designer reassured. "You just watch yourself out there, and don't break your new toy."

Shadow patted his shoulder and went off. Designer had produced something better than Shadow would ever expect. Now it was time to put it in combat testing.

-Sio 3rd Person POV-

Sio was awoken by a beeping from his helmet. He sat up from his bunk and stretched. He slipped his helmet on and noticed that Shash was hailing him. He yawned and woke himself up as much as he could, then answered.

"Sio, report." Shash barked. "Why haven't you been answering me on the computer?"

"Sorry sir," Sio apologized. "I was taking a bit of a rest before we got started today."

"Where is Seoul?"

"She may have gotten up early to Marshall the men around a bit." Sio guessed. He had two words for Seoul's behaviour around Shash;_ kiss ass_."She isn't too impressed with the performance and reliability of the White Fang's soldiers."

"Agreeable." Shash sighed.

Anyone on this team could've agreed on that. The White Fang was not the Grand Army of the Republic. They weren't trained to be the best soldiers in the galaxy. They were just a bunch of unhappy alienated beings fighting for equality.

"Is there a particular reason you made contact sir?" Sio asked.

"Negative." Shash replied. "I wanted to check up on you two. Me and Detta have one more thing to attend to. Shash out."

Sio stretched, then grabbed his customized DC-15X. He began to take it apart and clean it. Today was going to be another fun filled day.

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

Shadow had called everyone to meet at team TJGJ's dorm. Today they were going back on the offensive against Shash. Everyone was equipped for combat, minus Tested. Designer showed up with some attachments for his DP23 including a vibroblade bayonet, and TJ and GT helped modify it to shoot dust rounds if needed. Team RWBY wore their regular attire.

"Nice Deece," Tested commented as TJ ran through the settings of his DC-17M. "Is it hard to reload with the ammunition clip on the wrong side?"

"Not at all," TJ was taken aback. "In fact, it's much easier to reload. And what do you mean by the wrong side?"

"Well most Republic issue weapons keep the ammunition clip on the-"

"Nevermind." TJ stopped him, knowing the answer to the question.

Finally Shadow came into the room. Jared noticed he wasn't wearing his helmet.

"Where's your bucket, Shadow?" Jared asked.

"Trashed," he replied. "I've got something new." Shadow slipped on a hood.

"Spooky." GT said aloud.

Jared just stared.

"What?" Shadow asked.

"A hood?" Jared stated in a disappointing tone. "Really?"

"Gift from Designer," Shadow explained. "A bit tougher than my old helmet and has a HUD."

"... I'm not even going to ask." Jared facepalmed.

He noticed Blake look him over. "I think it suits you." She smiled.

"I think the proper term Blake was looking for was bad ass." Yang piped in.

"Well, let's get down to business." Shadow broke the conversation as he pulled his hood back. "Designer got word that Junior got hit yesterday."

"-And got what he deserved." Yang muttered.

"From street cams, Designer can confirm that it was the Nova." Shadow continued. "What we don't know, is why. Now we can't exactly ask the Nova so we are going to have to ask Junior himself. Another task is that Designer has also heard of an arms deal taking place at a warehouse in the industrial district of the town. This could just be a dead end, but we want to be sure."

"Any other jobs?" Jared asked.

"Covert ops." Shadow answered. "Gather intel on the streets, investigate crime. If you can, find anything linking back to the White Fang, Roman Torchwick or the Nova."

"Teams?" TJ suggested.

"Correct. Alpha team; Blake, Tested and I will take the arms deal. Beta team; GT and TJ; you will interrogate and shadow Junior. Delta team; Jared and the rest of the ladies handle covert ops. Provide back up to the other teams if necessary. You will have vehicular transportation."

"You know," Ruby interrupted. "I've been wondering. Where did you get all this money? For the dinners and car rentals I mean."

"We, uhh..." Shadow exchanged glances with the other SBH. "Designer's good with lien dispensers." He coughed.

"Why you thieving-" Weiss started but was cut off.

"-In his defence Weiss," Tested stated. "The Schnee Dust Company has has quite a few questionable business deals."

"Somebody's been doing their reading." Jared nudged Tested with approval.

"I really try." Tested shrugged.

Weiss crossed her arms at the mention of her family's company.

"Saltiness aside," Shadow brought the conversation back on track. "Does everyone know their places?"

There was a variety of acknowledgements.

"Good. Move out."

Everyone got into their teams and prepared to set out. Jared grabbed Shadow by the shoulder.

"You put me on covert?" He asked.

"I'm not putting Tested on covert because one, he can't fit in and two, he stands out pretty easily."

"He did manage to do covert ops in Atlas."

"I'll keep the boy and Blake with me. I'm not going to separate the twins and I don't want Yang going near Junior." Shadow paused to let that sink in. "Either way, Weiss and Ruby were fantastic at covert ops while I was gone," he smirked. "And you get to keep Yang."

"I hate you." Jared shoved him with a jokingly tone.

"Quit hating and start playing." Shadow wise cracked. "We have a long day ahead of us."

-Designer 3rd Person POV-

Designer was scrubbing through his data last night when he received a coded message from Elias. He was glad he was alright. All it took was his standard decoding software and the message was comprehensible. Within the garble and static, Designer heard the voice of his contact.

_Des, I'm taking a huge risk in contacting you right now but it's important. It's too dangerous for me to tell you the coordinates through here. The Nova might notice it. What I can say is that a patrol of soldiers from the Atlesian Military has turned up. The name of their highest ranking officer is Lieutenant Jeffrey Stevens. You need to find my location soon. Shash's endgame is-_

The message garbled into static after that. Elias heavily damaged the file in hopes of protecting it. Even though Designer had preferred to have heard the message, he wanted Elias safe. Designer had gotten this message last night. Now he was going deep.

Designer was now hunkered in a dust crate onboard an Atlesian Military Dropship headed towards its commanding airship. From what he had seen before he had hid inside, was that it was being piloted by two human soldiers, accompanied by four androids known as the Atlesian Knight-200s. It bothered him knowing a form of a robot was near him, considering he had participated in the Clone Wars. Although these were much different than the regular Separatist battle droids he was used to fighting. They were robots, yes, but they were also white. It was almost like they had mushed together the standard clone trooper and a B1 Battle Droid into one thing.

In Designer's train of thought, he rustled a pack of dust crystals. He quickly tensed. He peeked through the cracks in the crate, checking to see if he had raised any alarm. He saw one of the androids looking straight at his hiding place. Designer heard the light whirring of mechanics as it strolled towards him. Designer slowly reached and drew his DC-17B side arm, flicking off the safety. He aimed upwards. If there was any place it was okay to blow his cover in his mission, it was here. Not on the main command ship.

Designer took a deep breath as silently as he could just before the android opened the crate, then activated his cloak. Other than taking aim at it with his sidearm, he didn't dare move. The slightest shimmer of motion could give away his position. The android looked down on him, scanning the crate. Designer was already estimating where the other androids were so he could dispose of them if this one compromised him. After a few moments, the android shut the crate, satisfied that nothing was there and went back to join its companions. Designer slowly slipped his sidearm into it's holster and exhaled lightly. _That was too close…_

Finally the Dropship touched down inside a hangar. Designer felt the androids unload his crate into a cargo area. As soon as he was sure that no one was watching, he opened the lid and climbed out. The airship interior was bright white, much like Kamino. Even though it reminded him of his original home, Designer found the bright and white interior unsettling. There was nowhere to hide and if he moved too fast his cloak would shimmer. He had to finish his mission though. For Elias.

He made his way through a maze of corridors, passing by Atlesian soldiers on the way. There was one time he was almost spotted when a platoon crowded the hall. Designer had to flatten himself against the wall as much as he could. His cloak almost gave away, unwilling to render the background behind him. The troops didn't notice though and just pressed on. After a long search, Designer reached the bridge. It reminded him of the bridge on a Venator Class Star Destroyer, except much smaller and without the twin trenches below the observation platform. There he found technicians and soldiers manning their stations and moving in and out of bridge. There was also the highest ranking officer, a Commander, overseeing his men.

Designer moved quickly and quietly. He got over to the closest data station, noticing the technician speaking to the Commander. Designer plugged his flash drive into the port and started to pull up the files on his HUD. He accessed the appropriate files by winking as he saw them. Then he found the name he was searching for. Jeffrey Stevens. Jeffrey went missing in action patrolling the ocean just off the coast of Vale when they received strange energy readings. Elias said he was on an island without known coordinates. Jeffrey must have found it. Designer downloaded the necessary files that he needed and made his way back to the hangar. He hopped back into his crate and closed it. It was time to head home.

-Shash 3rd Person POV-

Shash and Detta had just finished cleaning up the mess left by Kill. Shash understood this wasn't Kill's specialty, but everything needed to be prepared for Shadow's capture prior to his escape. They had moved lien, closed business deals, and cut off loose ends leaving no trace of their operations in Atlas. It was a good thing too. The Atlesian Military was starting to look into this ever since Kill took out a group of Atlesian fighters. Emergency and construction crews were still repairing the damage made by the hunt.

"Are you ready to leave Buir?" Detta asked Shash as he was tapped into the communication grid.

"One moment," Shash responded.

"Is something wrong?"

Shash listened for a few moments before saying, "Maybe."

He repeated one of the communications once again. The message was garbled and incomprehensible. It needed to be encrypted. Shash reached out and locked onto it, retracing it back to their base.

_Gotcha._

"Something is wrong." Shash announced and led Detta towards the bullhead dropship waiting for them. As soon as he got on, he told the pilot to contact Seoul.

After a few moments, she answered and she showed up on a hologram.

"Yes, Commander?" Her ice chilling tone seeped out of the speakers.

"I've isolated a message in the communications grid," Shash stated. "Run it through Machine's decryption program and play it through."

"Yes sir." She replied and did her task. "Patching message through now."

_Des, I'm taking a huge risk in contacting you right now but it's important. It's too dangerous for me to tell you the coordinates through here. The Nova might notice it. What I can say is that a patrol of soldiers from the Atlesian Military has turned up. The name of their highest ranking officer is Lieutenant Jeffrey Stevens. You need to find my location soon. Shash's endgame is-_

Shash froze in fury. He bit down on his teeth hard to blow off steam. "There is a mole at our base Seoul." He spoke in disappointment. "I left you in charge."

"I suspected so," Seoul didn't confirm any mistake. "Whoever is leaking Intel from our organization is part of the White Fang and is working with Designer."

"Oh?"

"I have DNA samples and fingerprints to run through. I'll find him before your return."

"I hope you do Seoul. I'd hate to be disappointed. Shash out."

Shash closed the link and ran his plan through his head. He couldn't lose, but a smart tactician is always careful. He ran his plan through his head several times, even running simulations of trying to stop it. The only possible ways this could go sideways would happen here and now. Nothing can go wrong at this stage. This should be the only chance Shadow has to stop him.

-TJ 3rd Person POV-

TJ and GT rode rented motorbikes to the shady side of town. They knew where Junior's club was. They had been their before on their little escapade. But TJ and GT were not there to party. They were there for information.

The duo rode their bikes into a dark alley for cover and dismounted. Junior's place might be heavily guarded now due to the recent attacks. Even in broad daylight, the SBH could stick to the shadows without notice. They were unseen by the low amount of civilians strolling the streets. Finally they went around an alley across from Junior's place. TJ scanned the area while GT watched his back. He flipped on his tactical display and his HUD outlined the hidden guards watching over the door.

"How frightened is Junior now?" GT asked.

"Very." TJ replied. "Four guards at the front entrance, dust pistols, and I believe there are two more behind the door with automatics."

"_Phooey,_" GT gawked. "I wonder what's inside."

"It'd be best not to find out the hard way." TJ stated and motioned them away. "Let's get onto the roof."

There was a building to the east of Junior's club a story taller than it. The two scaled the wall with their ascension cables and fired another cable onto the roof of Junior's club. With a steel grip, they slid down as discreetly as possible, landing with a light thud. Keeping their heads low, the scurried over to a skylight window.

TJ whistled in awe. "Everyone in there has a automatic. The DJ, four men in the corners, the bartender, two men by the secondary doors, two by the rear and another two near the entrance to the office."

"That's a lot of heat," GT warned. "We've taken out worse odds before and maybe with a well placed flash bang we might be able to take them all out, but I'd rather not get mowed down by the automatics hugging the walls and firing from all directions."

"Agreed." TJ nodded. "Let's play this safe."

TJ saw GT scanning the roof for something.

"You have anything in mind?" TJ asked.

"Junior's office is on the top floor right?"

"Yes, according to Yang."

GT walked over to a spot on the roof. "So right about here would you say?"

TJ looked at the building plans on his data pad. "Yep. What are you thinking? A thermal would be too loud and would draw attention."

"Remember what you did to Machine?"

"Yes?"

GT let that thought sink in.

"Oh." TJ thought.

"Last I heard, disintegration was silent."

"Alright, I'll give it a go, but he'll be pissed."

"Doesn't matter," GT stated. "We need to stop Shash."

TJ nodded. He needed to remember the circumstances from the way he killed Machine. He shut his eyes, drew his sword and felt for his power. He felt for his semblance. He thought about destroying his target. Completely obliterating them, the way he did Machine. He brought his sword up and stabbed it into the roof, shoving it all the way to the blade guard. In a fury, he violently ripped the sword from the roof, disintegrating a meter wide hole. There was a voice of confusion inside. TJ sheathed his sword and hopped in first, landing and breaking through a desk. Junior backed up in surprise in his chair and TJ lunged at him, covering his mouth before he could scream. GT hopped in second and locked the door, leaning on it to prevent any entrance.

"Junior!" A guard yelled from outside. "Are you alright? We heard a bang!"

TJ locked with Junior's frightened eyes. "We aren't here to hurt you." TJ assured. "We just want information. I'm going to take my hand off of your mouth and you are going to call off your men. Try anything funny and I will kill you before your men can come bursting through that door." TJ paused for a dramatic effect. "Am I clear?"

Junior nodded in horror. TJ removed his hand from Junior's mouth cautiously.

"Junior?" The guard called. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he yelled back. "Just fell off my seat."

"Well, whatever you say, boss..." The guard mutters under his breath, "Idiot…"

A wave of relief washed over TJ as he heard the guard's footsteps descend down to the bottom floor.

"Thank you for your cooperation." TJ said politely.

"So what's the deal?" Junior asked carefully.

"You were attacked yesterday." TJ reminded. "The people who attacked you are our enemies. What did they say to you?"

Junior was silent.

"You do realize we can be persuasive." GT taunted and cracked his knuckles.

"You realize if I say anything regarding them to anyone, I'm as good as dead?"

"If you don't, you'll die anyway." TJ shot back. "The 21st Nova do not like loose ends, and that's what you are right now."

Junior still didn't talk.

"Look," GT equipped his DC-17M from his belt and levelled it at Junior's face. "One of our friends almost died the last time you didn't talk. You WILL cooperate."

"I'm sorry about your friend Jared." Junior apologized. "I really am. But these people are dangerous. They will cut me down before I can even lift a finger-"

"How about a deal?" TJ cut him off. Junior paused to listen. "You answer our questions and we will protect you."

"Pffft." Junior scoffed. "Do you really think you can protect me?"

"Jared's alive for a reason." TJ brought up.

Junior paused and thought very carefully, calculating the risk.

"We really could kill you here and now." GT warned.

Junior sighed. "Fine."

"Excellent." TJ gleamed. "Now what happened yesterday?"

"The Nova, as you call them, threatened me, after killing my men. They told me to deposit four hundred thousand lien into a bank account by 10:00 p.m. tonight."

"What was the account number?" GT asked.

Junior pulled out a piece of scrap paper and handed it to GT.

"S045C5-19." GT recited.

"Do you know why they asked?" TJ pressed on.

"No." Junior answered. "Only that they'd kill me and take everything else." Junior looked up at TJ. "They aren't exactly giving much choice."

"They will kill you anyway." TJ informed. "If they are asking for that much lien, that means they don't need you anymore."

"So." Junior said frustratedly. "What the hell am I supposed to do?"

"He's right TJ." GT nudged him. "We can't watch him forever."

"I have a plan." TJ said slowly.

Junior looked up in hope. "What is it?"

"You are going to go to the bank to make the deposit." TJ explained. "Take as long as you can. In the mean time, me and my brother will look out for the Nova that will attempt to assassinate you. Hopefully we can draw him out and take him down."

"Hmm," GT thought. "It's a bit risky, especially for him." He pointed at Junior.

"S-so I'm b-bait?" Junior stammered.

"Yes," TJ replied. "But if this is successful, we might be able to take out another one of Shash's men."

GT nodded. "I'm for it."

TJ turned to Junior. "Will you help us?"

Junior took a deep breath to mull this over. He didn't have many options.

"Alright." He said. "I guess I owe you for your pal."

TJ stepped closer and did a slight bow to him. "Thank you." He said gratefully.

Junior just nodded. "You two can just sit up here."

TJ acknowledged and turned to GT. "Report to the others." He said, then leaned closer. "You think this'll work?"

"All we can do is hope." GT said before locking out his helmet speakers to contact the others.

TJ was actually quite surprised that Junior agreed to this. Sure he didn't have much option, but TJ expected him to make a run for it. The fact that he felt it was necessary to repay the death he almost caused ups his respect from TJ. For a shady dealer, it was good that he at least had some honor. Now it was up to him and his brother to protect him.

-Yang 3rd Person POV-

_Why did we get the small job?_ Yang thought to herself as she was checking out the smaller gangs. Jared was also with her... somewhere. She asked where he was on the commlink she communicated with him on, but he responded with "In the shadows", which was quite frankly, not very helpful.

Yang saw a group of five thugs hanging out near a liquor store. She decided to investigate.

"Jared here," Jared's voice came from Yang's earpiece. "Beta team just reported. GT and TJ have a plan for a sting operation against the Nova."

"Sting?" Ruby asked on the commlink. "What do you mean by sting? I'm pretty sure you guys said your armor can block projectile rounds." Ruby was paired with Weiss in another area.

Jared gave an obvious sigh of disappointment. "Weiss, please explain. I don't want to deal with this."

"Yeah, umm, I actually don't even know what that is." Weiss replied.

Jared gave another sigh, longer and more disappointing than his previous. "A sting operation involves setting a lure to catch someone in an act." Jared explained. "In this case, Junior was asked to give away lien. Now Shash hates loose ends so he'll probably kill Junior after the task is complete."

"And he'll get what he deserves." Yang muttered.

"Anyways," Jared tried to siphon off Yang's anger. "When he does so, GT and TJ will be there to get the drop on one of Shash's operatives, hopefully taking one more Nova out of Shash's team."

"You could've just said it was a trap." Weiss scolded.

"Yeah, it would be easily understood." Ruby agreed.

"I was just..." Jared took a deep breath. There was a loud smack from his end. "Nevermind." He sighed in frustration.

"Did you just facepalm?" Yang giggled.

"Yes," Jared answered. "Yes I did."

"Couldn't tell. Someone is too discreet when lurking in the shadows."

"Hey, the important thing is I've got my eye on you." Jared assured. "Speaking of which, heads up, those boys are looking for a party."

Yang looked up and saw the group of thugs eying her. They were all drunk, that was obvious enough. Normally a gang and liquor didn't mix very well with a passing by female, especially one of Yang's age and appearance. Yang found it funny. If they tried anything, they would regret it, and that regret would last them weeks, lying down in a hospital bed.

"Thanks for the heads up." Yang said to Jared.

"If they try anything," Jared stated protectively. "I'm right here."

"I've got this Jared," Yang smirked. "Thanks anyway. It nice having someone inside me."

"_'Inside_', meaning metaphorically as in your earpiece? Or," Jared switched to a different tone. "As in, the other thing..."

"Both." Yang giggled.

"EWWWWWW!" The disgusted voice of Ruby blasted over Yang's earpiece. "YANG! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Yang gasped at remembering Ruby and Weiss could hear the conversation as well.

Weiss's voice came in with a few seconds of laughter. "I'm just saying we can hear you as well."

"YANG XIAO LONG!" Ruby seemed pretty mad.

"Jared," Yang blushed. "Just saying you set that up."

"Okay," Jared spoke, utterly embarrassed. "In hindsight, I probably should've remembered they were on the link. Sorry you two had to hear that..."

There was a brief silence on the commlink until Weiss said, "Ruby is mad and grossed out at the same time."

"Hey, blonde!" One of the gang members called out. He started to approach her.

"Leave this for later," Yang ushered. "I've gotta go."

"What is a lady like you doing around here?" The gang member asked. He wore a leather jacket on top of a hoodie. He was holding a bottle of beer in his hand.

"I could ask you the same thing." Yang replied. "By the way, my eyes are up here." She mentioned when she noticed he was checking her out.

"What?" The gang member stumbled back a bit. "Oh."

"I actually came to ask you a few questions." Yang smirked.

"Yang," Jared spoke on the commlink. "Please don't do what I think you are going to do. That should be off limits."

Yang sighed. Normally pain made people talk, especially if it was to a valuable and sensitive part of their body.

"What type of questions?" The gang member asked.

"How much do you know about Roman Torchwick?" Yang asked. "On top of that, the White Fang."

The gang member switched to a more serious tone. "The White Fang is just a Faunus rebellion. As for Torchwick, what do you want to know?"

"Do you know of Roman's accomplices?"

The man looked back at his friends, and they gave him a stern stare.

"Define accomplices." He asked.

"Accomplices wearing white armour with red markings." Yang realized she had struck a chord, which was good. This meant they had information.

The rest of the gang started to approach them.

"You realize that the second you take out the first three," Jared asked. "The others are going to run."

"That's your job." Yang replied.

"Who are you talking to?" The man asked.

"Nevermind that," Yang shrugged. "Now you were about to give me some information?"

The gang members now joined their comrade. They were armed, Yang noticed the concealed weapons. Dust pistols.

"Now you see," the lead man stated. "You aren't suppose to know about them. In fact, people who find out about them usually end up dead."

"You really don't want to try." Yang warned with a challenging tone.

The leader chuckled, then quickly drew a dust pistol. Yang lunged forward, landing a hard punch across his face. He whirled around from the impact, the toppled over to his side. Yang saw the next man draw his weapon. She spun into a roundhouse kick and knocked it away. She didn't have enough time to stop the next one. She ducked as a dust round flew past the top of her head, the leaped up, kneeling the attacker in the jaw. Keeping her momentum, she whirled herself mid air and straightened her left leg and launched it into the next attacker's face. The leader got up and charged her. She caught his first punch and dragged him around, connecting his face with the second attacker's fist. She elbowed the leader to the ground and looked up at the second attacker.

"Friendly fire, eh?" She teased as she lurched upward into an uppercut, knocking him out cold.

The third attacker was up now. He threw the first punch. Yang deflected it away and sidestepped away from the next punch. The man turned into a kick. Yang grabbed the kick and reeled him close. Keeping his leg locked in her left elbow, she punched him in the crotch, hard. The man let out a howl of pain. She looked at the remaining two men. They exchanged glances.

"Are you two going to run yet?" Yang taunted.

The men got into attack stance. Yang punched her captured attacker in the crotch again, harder this time. The man screamed at the top of his lungs. He started to swear now, cursing at her. Each sentence she punched him again and again. She turned back to the other two.

"Are you?" She continued.

The remaining two exchanged glances once more then nodded at each other. Then the both turned and ran. Yang smiled and punched her captured attacker in the crotch once more as hard as she could. She dropped him on the ground and watched him curl up into a ball. He clutched his crotch and began to sob in pain.

"Thank you for being a good example." She said as she walked over him. "Jared, two runners." She spoke into her earpiece.

"Already caught them." Jared announced aloud.

Yang saw a man in black armor carrying the two gang members on his shoulders. He dropped them.

"You know, you could've stopped them from running." Jared pointed out.

"Well I thought you might need the exercise." Yang chuckled. "I was doing all the heavy lifting."

Jared scoffed in amusement. "I'll have you know that I am at peak condition for a human at my biological age."

"Well I didn't have to work too much for this." Yang posed.

"Heh, wait till you turn twenty, then tell me that." Jared chuckled. "Then you can ask me what diet I took on Kamino."

Yang chuckled, then looked at him. "You didn't kill them did you?"

"Nah," Jared shrugged. "Stunned him. There _is_ a stun setting on our weapons."

"You want me to go bring the car around?" Yang suggested.

"No, I'll get it." Jared insisted.

"You don't have a licence."

"Well I'm the better driver," Jared shot back. "And the least likely to get pulled over." Jared took a few steps then paused. "And I do have a licence."

"You never told me you took your test." Yang cocked her eyebrow.

"I uh..." Jared started to explain. "Asked Designer." He coughed.

Yang shook her head. "You and your pals should start learning how to make an honest living." She giggled.

Jared paused to think of another comeback, then sighed. "I'll just go grab the car."

Yang nodded at him as he melted into the shadows. Then he was gone. Yang looked down at her victory, then knelt beside the sobbing man.

"Reconsider having kids." She joked, then knocked him out.

-Designer 3rd Person POV-

Designer received another message from Elias. This time it was typed out. Designer rank it through his encryption program and read it.

_Designer, I'm back at Vale. Meet me at warehouse 133175 on the north side of Vale. I have some very important information._

Designer thought that was odd. He ran the message through the encryption program once again and double checked that it was from him. Everything seemed right.

Designer quickly geared up, grabbing his silenced DC-15S and silenced DC-17Bs. He after he got outside and hopped on his speeder, cloaking after travelling three meters.

The warehouse designated in the message was in a lowly populated area. Elias had made a good choice. The windows we're painted over with black and the warehouse was still vacant, ready to be sold. Designer rode into the building blind side and dismounted from his speeder. He folded it up and attached it to his back with a satisfying metal click. He took a deep breath and entered.

The door opened with an exaggerated creak. He didn't want to scare his pal. Then again, he thought it would be a good prank, but it was getting old, and he had already lost the element of surprise. The interior was dim with the only light source coming from the chips in the over painted windows, and a... _laptop_?

"Elias?" He called out. "Elias it's Designer, are you here?"

There was no response.

"Elias, it's me," he tried again. "You can come out of hiding."

Once again the only sound being made was the echo of Designer's voice and the cooling fan of the laptop set on a chair in the middle.

Designer shook his head and activated his night vision filter in his HUD. The looked around the room, scanning for Elias. Other than the chair and laptop, the place was empty. There was nothing lying around. No tables, chairs, extra pieces of plywood, nothing. There was nowhere TO hide.

"Oh dear me," a cold feminine voice sneered in the shadows. "Is someone lost?"

Designer knew that voice. He arced his head in all directions searching for the source. It was the laptop.

"Don't be shy Designer," the voice teased. "I don't bite... sometimes."

"Nova ARC-5657-"

"Call me by my name." The voice cut him off.

Designer waited until he got to the laptop before saying it. "Seoul." He announced bitterly.

"That's better." Seoul chuckled. She wasn't wearing her helmet. "Why the frown? Expecting someone else?"

"As a matter of fact-"

"Well too bad!" She snapped.

"How?" Designer muttered.

"I'm sorry? I can't hear you over your utter stupidity. Did you really think Elias would return?"

"How did you replicate the data signature?" Designer asked sourly. "That's not possible."

"We didn't," Seoul explained. "We asked Elias to do it for us." Seoul stepped away from the camera and revealed Elias tied to a chair all bloodied and beaten up. His emerald eyes were still with fear.

"What did you do to him!" Designer asked sharply.

"Oh not much really." Seoul twirled a vibroblade in her hand. "He's had a cutting edge time with us." Seoul stabbed the knife into Elias's forearm. He let out a scream of pain.

Designer gritted his teeth in anger.

Seoul pulled the blade out of Elias's forearm and let him whimper for a few seconds. "Did you seriously think that your little spy idea was going to work?"

"Well considering how sloppy you and your boys have been lately,-"

"We are not sloppy!" Seoul shot back in rage. She paused and took a deep breath. "Alright, we've been a little rough around edges lately."

"That's an understatement." Designer teased. "_Cough, cough, _Sergeant Tested."

"Then I guess I should make up for that." Seoul suggested as she brought her vibroblade to Elias's neck.

"Seoul, stop." Designer pleaded. "That's an order."

"I don't take orders from a babysitter."

"Well guess which baby this sitter is watching over."

"Smart remarks only speed up this process, Dessie." Seoul paced behind Elias.

"Seoul he's not even thirty." Designer pleaded once more. "Don't harm him."

Seoul smiled at the camera and shook her head, crouching down behind the chair. She sat on her knees and gave Elias a squeeze from behind. "You know I can't help but say this boy is rather," she paused to search for the word. "Handsome. Such a waste."

"Seoul!" Designer ushered.

She continued her smile. "Say something nice."

"Seoul, please."

"_Say, something, nice._" Her tone shifted more sternly.

Designer went silent.

"Hmph," Seoul shrugged. "Oh well."

Elias lurched upwards from his chair, his mouth opening with a scream.

"No!" Designer screamed.

After a moment, the scream faded into a silent gasp. Then his head drooped down, lifeless. Seoul pulled something from his back.

"Now that, was entertaining." Seoul twirled the vibroblade once and then sheathed it in her shins.

Designer felt the anger boil inside him. "You heartless bitch."

"Check your language fucker." Hahaha

"I will find you." Designer promised. "And when I do, you will pay. Every last one of you."

"Oh don't be an asshat Designer," Seoul shook her head. "You won't find us. You won't kill us. Besides, you should be worried about your life instead."

All of a sudden a countdown appeared on the screen, starting with ten seconds.

"Later Dessie!" Seoul terminated the connection.

Designer searched around. What was the countdown for? He flipped on his deep scanner in his HUD. Then he saw it. Thermal detonators everywhere. They were placed in the floor and in the walls. This whole place was about to go sky high.

_Five, _

Designer heard the door shut and lock with a metallic hiss behind him.

_Four,_

Designer sprinted for the door. He couldn't use a thermal without setting the rest off.

_Three,_

He drew his DC -15S silenced carbine.

_Two,_

Designer took aim and opened fire, shooting through the lock.

_One,_

Designer crouched and sprang himself at the door, dropping his blaster and tucking himself into a ball for safety.

_Zero._

Designer's back instantly heated up life fire as a large shock wave slammed into his back, sending flying into the pavement. He was stunned for a few moments, trying to get up, only managing to roll into recovery position. His HUD was pulsing red and was screaming an alarm at him to bring him out of shock. He shook his head and his vision cleared. He keyed the command to shut off the alarm. The sound stopped and his HUD slipped into its normal light blue hue.

Designer looked up at the warehouse. The whole thing had come down on itself. It was meant to bury him, should he even survive the blast. He was lucky they took the bury option over the flying debris. A few pieces of high speed flying rubble, wood or glass could potentially penetrate the plastoid plates he wore.

Designer frowned. This was a trap, and he fell for it. To make matters worse, another one of his contacts were dead. It was here and now that Designer knew that he could not do this alone. His lone wolf style wouldn't cut it. Not this time. He unclipped his speeder from his back and unfolded it. It didn't start up. None of the controls responded. It was damaged, most likely due to the blast. On top of that, he realized his cloaking device was offline as well and he couldn't find his DC-15S. Now he had to walk back to his hideout, sticking to the shadows. At least he still had his sidearms.

-Tested 3rd Person POV-

Tested, Don, Vin and Whix had settled down in a garage. Vin kept watch on the entrance while Don was tending to Whix's injuries. Tested was looking to see where they were. He found a holographic screen, looking as if it functioned like a computer. He tried it out. The first thing he searched up was 'World Map'. The map popped up in the search results under the name 'Remnant'.

_Remnant._

Tested recalled anything from his studies or previous missions or even news regarding a planet named Remnant. After a moment of thinking he gave up.

"Don," he called. "Do you know of the planet Remnant?"

Don turned to him with a blank face. "Not that I know of. Nothing on any star charts I've ever looked at for study."

"Vin?"

"Not a Republic or CIS planet." Vin replied.

"I would've thought that everyone was part of the war, eh?" Whix chuckled. "Whether wanted or not."

"What do we do?" Don asked.

"We wait." Tested stated. "I've already set up a Republic distress beacon. If there are any in the area, they'll know to find us."

"Sir," Vin whispered sharply. "Someone is coming. Female civvie."

Tested looked over at Don and Whix.

"It took me about a minute to get him comfy," Don shook his head. "He can't move without going through extreme pain."

Tested motioned Vin behind cover. The civilian opened the door and entered. She seemed to be humming a light tune. She was probably in a good mood. Shame for her day to be ruined.

Tested came out of hiding and aimed his DC-17B at her. Startled, she hopped back, right into Vin, who was already putting her into a grip. She reacted, driving her elbow into Vin's lower gut. She whirled into a right cross, landing the blow on Vin's cheek. Tested flicked the stun setting on his pistol and knocked her down. She let out a shriek of pain before collapsing to the floor unconscious.

Tested moved up to the door, looking through eye hole to look out. He silently motioned Vin to restrain her. After a few moments, Tested stepped back from the entrance.

"No one heard." He announced. "We're good."

Vin already had her cuffed to an exposed pipe in the wall.

"I see we've gotten acquainted with the locals, eh?" Whix cracked a joke.

"Not the best introductions." Don scoffed.

"Keep her restrained for the time being," Tested ordered. "I'll keep the beacon on for help. In the meantime, get some rest. That's an order."

"Tested!" Shadow shook him out of his flashback.

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Shadow, Tested and Blake came up upon the arms deal. The sun was down, and the deal was happening at the docks. They had taken a black car and parked it around the other side of the docks.

Shadow shut off the engine.

"We're here." Shadow informed. "You two ready?"

"Always." Blake said certainly.

"And you Tested?" Shadow called out to the Sergeant in the back seat. "Tested?"

Tested was asleep with his helmet on, facing outside the window. It would be hard to tell for a random civilian to tell whether he was asleep or not. Shadow leaned back and shook him.

"Tested, wake up." He said. "Tested!"

Tested jolted upright, hand on his sidearm.

"You good?" Shadow asked.

"Yeah, sorry." Tested murmured and shook himself to wake up.

"Good, we're here."

They all stepped out of the car. The lights around the dock were out. The only source of light they had was the moon and an array of lights in a small clearing near a few shipping containers. It was the arms deal

Shadow led Blake and Tested up a stack of crates and moved atop a small warehouse. It was a good vantage point if they all lay flat on their bellies. Shadow instinctively switched his DC-17M into sniper mode and was surprised when his hood's HUD targeting display lined up with his scope, not to mention bring his line of sight into higher quality. He also noticed Tested pull out binoculars from his belt.

"That's the arms deal." Tested whispered.

"Mhm." Shadow acknowledged.

"The White Fang is here."

"So is Torchwick." Shadow exchanged glances with Blake.

"There is one 21st Nova ARC on site." Tested referred to a data pad. "I have a ARC-5657 that matches the armor markings."

"Seems a bit smaller than the other boys." Shadow commented.

"Other than that, we've got around thirty two guards." Tested shuddered. "Not all of them are White Fang and some of them are carrying high impact sniper rifles and automatics."

"Thirty two?" Blake cocked her eyebrow. "That's actually quite a number Shadow."

Shadow shook his head and chuckled. "Any person can take out thirty two men. You just have to be creative."

"I beg to differ Shadow." Tested signalled to one of the opened shipping containers.

Shadow looked down his scope to see. What Shadow saw actually made him gasp a bit in fear. Four large mechanized battle suits walked out of a container and moved into a defensive position.

Tested made a low whistle in approval. "That's an Atlesian Paladin," he stated. "Strong enough the fight higher class Grimm. Two heavy cannons built into the arms and an array of deployable missile launchers on each shoulder. Nothing short of a Thermal Detonator is penetrating that armor, forget the array of weaponry." Tested paused and stared in awe. "A tougher metal alloy and up the weapons to Republic firepower and that thing would be a work of art."

"Shadow," Blake tried to reason. "It took the entirety of team RWBY to destroy one. Four might be a problem."

Shadow thought to himself for a few moments, searching the area for something useful. "Maybe we don't have to fight the Paladins." He smiled as the arms deal moved into a warehouse. The Paladins remained outside with at least two thirds of the guards. "How many thermals do you have Tested?"

"Two," Tested replied. "I have three more but they are back at Beacon. I thought I might need them later."

"Yes, my team have been trying to spare our limited gear such as Thermals and the grenades for our launchers." Shadow bit his lip. "I don't plan on using more than two grenades here and I have three thermals. Oh well."

Shadow, Blake, and Tested moved closer, avoiding the guard's and the areas of light the best they could. Tested's armour would give him away easily. He might as well should light himself on fire. Shadow chinned tactical settings in his HUD and several dots on his motion tracker appeared. After travelling around the area, they found a pathway into the warehouse without being spotted. Then Shadow stopped.

"Shadow?" Blake nudged him.

"Tested, hand me your thermals and head inside with Blake." He ordered.

"Sure," Tested obeyed. "What are you going to do?"

"Make a distraction."

Tested shrugged and nodded, they headed inside the warehouse with Blake.

-Shadow, Tested and Blake Collective POV-

Shadow backtracked all the way to the Paladins. He pulled out two more thermals and linked them to a detonator. The then tossed the thermals as accurate a he could, sticking them to a leg on each Paladin.

Shadow then headed into the warehouse, finding Tested and Blake behind a stack of wooden crates. There were two White Fang bodies behind them dispatched stealthily by a vibroblade. Shadow joined them and looked in the direction of the meeting. It was between Roman Torchwick and a random businessman. The Nova was just there for support.

"Look," Torchwick sighed. "I'm asking you to do a small favor."

"I will not be caught in possession of stolen military grade technology!" The business man shouted.

"Then don't get caught." Roman shot back. "If you are as successful as you say you are in smuggling, then prove it!"

"Are you trying to push my buttons Roman?" The businessman signalled one of the guards who reached for a dust pistol.

The Nova was faster. He saw the guard and reacted in a blur of motion, shooting him with his sidearm before the guard could even draw the weapon. The other guards reacted as well and the Nova drew her second sidearm ready for a dual wield fight.

"I wouldn't do that." Roman warned. "Remember what happened to Junior...?"

The businessman's face was in a fury. But he calculated the risk then ordered his men to stand down. "You are on the borderline of war Roman."

"One which you wouldn't win." Roman smirked and signalled the Nova to stand down.

Shadow nudged to two and pointed to his detonator. Tested realised what he did and made a thumbs up. Shadow signalled Tested around the other side. "Take out Torchwick." Shadow told him. He motioned Blake to protect Tested's flank just in case he was overwhelmed. When they got into position, he sent a signal to the others that they were going to engage then hit the detonator.

There was a loud thump outside followed by the screams of men. The meeting turned into disarray as Roman and the other man ordered their men outside. Shadow stuck a thermal near the entrance. It detonated when most of them were close to the door. Shadow equipped his DC-17M and shot down two White Fang guards. As everyone reacted to Shadow's appearance, Tested came from behind with his DP23, killing off more guards unexpectedly.

Tested cleared the corners like he had been doing this his whole life. He blasted two more guards away and eyed his target. Roman. Two more guards joined Roman and they aimed their weapons. Tested almost stopped in confusion when Roman aimed his cane at him. He was almost pelted by the oncoming dust rounds. Suppressing fire came from Blake on another end, giving Tested enough time to charge. He crouched as low as he could and took out the two guards. Roman turned his attention to Tested and reacted. He flicked his cane and shoved the weapon's barrel away from him in safety. Tested whirled around to jab him with the Bayonet but Roman already saw it coming. He backed up and swung a vicious attack on the side of Tested's torso. Roman spun around again, knocking Tested's gun away. Tested pulled out his vibroblade and charged at Roman's gut. Roman just brought his cane in a downwards strike, hitting Tested at the back of his head. Tested struggled to get up but Roman kicked him over and aimed his cane.

Blake leaped into action. She managed to kick Roman off of Tested. Roman turned and smiled.

"Well hello there kitty cat." He teased.

In a rage, Blake unleashed a flurry of attacks on him, but Roman had gotten better since they last fought. He countered every blow. He was as fast as Blake. Even when Blake used her semblance to leave decoys of herself, Roman knew exactly where she was at all times. At one point, Roman lunged under an attack and elbowed her in the gut. He whirled around and smacked her across the face and then kicked her down. Then Tested tackled him.

Shadow picked off at the guards, making his way to his target; the Nova. It seemed he had the same idea, ignoring Tested and Blake, striding straight towards him. As soon as Shadow had shot down the remaining men, the Nova charged, firing his dual DC-17B pistols at him. Shadow ducked and dived to cover behind a crate. It didn't do much against the ionized rounds, penetrating the wood, nearly hitting him. He quickly rose and returned fire, forcing him to take cover. All of a sudden, the doors to the warehouse burst open and the guards from the exterior began to pour in. Shadow quickly switched his DC-17M into its grenade launcher mode and let loose two rounds at the crowd. The entire front line took the blow and the rest retreated. Shadow switched his weapon back into rifle mode and turned his attention to the pillar the Nova was hunkered behind. He had his weapon leveled as he moved slowly, eying his motion tracker in case he made any quick moves. He sprang into firing range, searching for his target. There was nothing there, but his motion tracker sensed him there a second ago.

Then Shadow had a sudden realization; the tracker doesn't give elevation. He quickly pointed his weapon up at the Nova, who was hanging from the ceiling from a cable. He was too late. The Nova released the cable from his DC-15S and dropped down, kicking away Shadow's DC-17M. When the Nova landed, he greeted Shadow with a blaster to the face. Shadow stepped back and slapped the weapon out of his hands. He drew his dark sword into an overhead swing. The Nova quickly ducked, reaching for his twin vibroblades on his shins. He lurched upwards, slashing at Shadow's torso. Shadow leaped back to avoid the attack. The Nova got into ready position and the two circled each other, waiting for the next strike.

"A hood?" The Nova spoke with an unexpected voice, "I'm disappointed Commander."

Shadow then realized the Nova was a female. Stunned by the sudden realization, he almost didn't sidestep out of the way from her spinning slash.

"I didn't realize Shash had females on his team." Shadow said with a curious tone.

The female Nova brought her vibroblades up, then down, clashing into Shadow's block.

"The name is Seoul," she introduced herself. "And you killed a few of my brothers."

Seoul kicked Shadow back and drew her dual DC-17Bs, opening fire right away. Shadow brought himself low and deflected as many round away as he could with his sword. As he charged, he felt a few rounds skim and deflect off his hood. He gave his silent thanks to Designer. As soon as he got in range, he leaped up into a diagonal stroke. Seoul rolled just under the attack, quickly switching back to her vibroblades to block Shadow's next attack. This time, Seoul blocked and deflected it away, getting under the blow and close to his chest. She grabbed the hilt of Shadow's sword with one hand and cut Shadow's wrist with her vibroblade, yanking the weapon free. She elbowed Shadow in the chest and side kicked him away.

"What's the matter Shadow?" Seoul taunted. "Can't even tag a girl?"

Shadow wasn't planning on going berserk this time. He stepped back, rubbing his palm where Seoul had cut him. He took a deep breath.

"You're good Seoul," Shadow acknowledged as she charged at him Shadow blocked the first attack, grabbing her right arm by the wrist. He twisted it around and smacked the blade away from her hand. She whirled around with her other vibroblade into a downwards stroke. Shadow brought his forearm to block it. "But you're not Shash."

Shadow grabbed the hilt of her blade, secured it and then kicked her away. He tossed the vibroblade away and picked up his Dark Sword, igniting with black fire as soon as he made contact with it. Seoul quickly drew her DC-17Bs and laid down suppressing fire. When Shadow took cover, she ran from the battle, hitting a button on her wrist just as she got outside.

Tested and Blake were dealing with Roman. After several failed attempts, their two pronged attack proved to challenge him. Roman was getting worn down. He wasn't a physically superior Faunus, and he didn't go through intense combat training for his whole life. He was a normal gangster, and that was starting to show. Finally Tested got hold of his DP23. He fired a shot and the spray of eight rounds went right over Roman's head. Tested charged with his bayonet and Roman whirled out of the way. This time he wasn't ready for Blake, who was already in mid kick by the time Roman tried to dodge. Roman went down and Blake approached him. All of a sudden, he turned over quickly and fired an explosive dust round from his cane at Blake's legs. She landed; back first, a yard away. Tested crouched and fired. Roman rolled out of the way and returned a shot. Tested knew he couldn't evade it. He dropped his DP23 and picked up the of a destroyed crate as a shield. The lid exploded in his face and launched him back a foot. If he wasn't wearing armour, he would've had about 100 splinters all over his front side. He looked up and saw Roman levelling his cane at Blake for the final blow. Tested's shotgun was nowhere in sight. Having no better idea, he jumped in front of Roman's shot, holding his hands out, as if he was holding a wall there.

_Boom!_

The round backfired against Roman and He fell back a few feet. The impact had shoved Tested onto his bum. Then he found it; his DP23. He grabbed it and opened fire at the retreating Roman, already boarding a waiting Bullhead dropship. The Nova was already on it and started to fire at Tested. Tested was pulled into cover, blue bolts impacting where he just was a moment ago. They waited in cover until the deep humming of the dropship lifted into the sky and faded away.

"Blake!" Shadow called out. "Tested!"

Tested got up. "Over here! We're alright!"

Shadow jogged up towards them and pulled back his hood. "They're gone," he said. "We stopped the arms deal."

Blake looked around them. "That's a lot of bodies..." She trembled.

"I've seen more." Tested shrugged.

Blake just gave him a scold, disappointed in the fact that he didn't show much care for death.

"The authorities will deal with them-" Shadow was cut off by the sounds of police sirens. "Speaking of which, we need to go."

-GT 3rd Person POV-

_Overwatch. _

Overwatch was a job for snipers. They are used to protect moving convoys, taking out any unseen threats. While GT was quite the marksman, Overwatch was a bit too boring compared to being in the shadows, wiping out targets up close, but he had to be on Overwatch for this plan to work.

He was set up on the roof of a building, watching over the bank down the street. His brother TJ was set up on another roof parallel to him. He lined his scope up with his brothers position, seeing a red light flash three times. GT clicked his teeth to activate his private commlink.

"Feeling it over there?" TJ's voice came through GT's helmet interior speakers.

"Swell." GT sighed. "Why can't we be on the ground?"

"As good as we are at hiding in the shadows," TJ explained. "We won't know where they'll be coming from."

"I just hate overwatch TJ."

"Just stay alert. Junior is arriving."

GT turned his attention to the arriving limousine. It parked just outside the bank and released several thugs, looking around the area. After it seemed clear to them, the motioned to someone inside. Junior stepped out of the limo cautiously. He made his way inside. Then his voice popped up on the comm channel.

"You guys have my back right?" He asked nervously.

"On your flanks." TJ replied.

"We'll tag any target coming for you." GT assured.

There was a few moments of silence on the commlink before Junior asked, "Am I really giving away four hundred thousand lein?"

"Just make the transfer." GT urged. "We need to draw him out."

He eyed his mission clock. One more minute until 10. He scoped everywhere on the ground, looking for an assassin or gunman. The was nothing in sight.

"Junior, is there anything suspicious in the bank?" TJ asked. He was gritting his teeth by the way he sounded.

"Nope," Junior replied. "That scares me."

"Me too..."

"TJ," GT interrupted. "What if the assassin" isn't on the ground?"

"What are you getting at brother?"

"Why aren't we on the ground?"

"Because we are on-" TJ paused. "... Overwatch... Check the buildings!"

"Way ahead of you."

GT ran his scope through every rooftop and window within his range. Then his mission clock went ding!

"Junior, get down!" TJ warned.

A blue bolt went straight through the bank windows and Junior's thugs rushed to protect him.

"Sniper." GT announced.

"Junior, are you hit?" TJ asked.

"I'm alright," Junior grunted in frustration. "Now get that son of a bitch!"

"GT, I've got nothing, do you have a target?"

GT stared into a spot. It was high enough to have a clear shot of the bank and was dark enough to conceal any person sitting there. It was also in a spot where no light would give off any reflection.

"GT do you have a target?" TJ repeated.

"Acknowledged." GT leveled his weapon. "Building a block away, 37 degrees of from being perpendicular to me."

GT didn't wait for his twin to find the target. He was endangering Junior more and more the longer he waited. He took a deep breath, found the resting place, then pulled the trigger. He followed the trail of his bolt all the way up to his target. The light blue laser left a moment of light, revealing the Nova, sniping in the shadows. GT missed. A light blue muzzle flash came from the same window. It skimmed off part of the roof and just glazed GT's helmet. He ducked down to avoid the next few shots. He counted four. Add the rounds fired at him and Junior, and there were six all together. It was a DC-15X, and the user needed to reload.

GT stood back up and fired a few more rounds. He saw movement, heading further up the building.

"GT, I don't have visual." TJ warned.

"Mark my position," GT ordered. "I'm in pursuit."

GT jumped onto the next building, heading after the fleeing Nova. Sure enough, as soon as the Nova got onto the roof, the moon lit up his red marked white armor, making him an easy target. GT leaped onto another rooftop and held his position, getting a clear line of sight. He fired. The Nova stopped and the round passed ahead of him. He ducked and rolled under GT's second round, returning another Salvo. GT dived behind a cooling fan, hearing the melting ping of the rounds impact the metal. Then he continued the chase.

GT was catching up. He was now only 200 meters behind. He saw the Nova skid to a stop at the edge of the block. He turned and opened fire, heading to his right.

GT dived into a roll and laid flat on his stomach, rounds flying over his head. He didn't dare get up until six shots passed. The Nova jumped down into an alleyway as GT returned fire. When GT caught up, he saw the Nova climbing up the fire escape to the next building. It was a long jump. If he made it, he could get it, he would end up in front. He took a few steps back and summoned his strength. By the time he was ready, the Nova was already on the next roof.

GT sprinted forward and launched himself as hard as he could. In midair, he saw the Nova turn and level his sniper.

_Crap._

A shot slammed him in the upper chest. He flailed his arms forward, reaching for something to grab. Then his arms went toss. He was clinging to the edge of the next roof with his left arm. A sharp pain was ringing through his chest. He knew the feeling of being shot. He clutched the area where the bolt hit him. It didn't hit his heart, otherwise he wouldn't be alive to find out. That's all that GT needed to know. He reached with his other arm to pull himself up, until a boot slammed on it. He let out a scream of pain and released. He shook off the pain and looked up at the Nova standing over him. He chuckled and slung his sniper rifle.

"You know, I like to know the names of the people who _hang around_ me." The Nova joked, then bent down. "So who are you, shadow trooper?"

"GT." GT answered bitterly.

"Ah yes, one of the twin marksmen." The Nova chuckled. "Well I'm Sio, our marksman. The blue grunt may know me as ARC-6066."

"I don't suppose you will be leaving me alive, will you?" GT speculated cautiously.

Sio thought to himself as he reached for a blade sheathed in his shoulder plate. "No," He finally spoke. "As much as I'd like to introduce you to my beskar blade, I think I'll just kick you off the roof."

At those words, GT slowly reached for his sidearm.

Then Sio stopped and looked up at something in the distance. "Oh, well it looks like you brought back up."

"That's not all I brought." GT leveled his DC-17B.

Sio kicked GT square in the face. If it weren't for his helmet, he would have a broken nose. But that didn't matter right now. He was falling and was incapable of grabbing any support. He thought to himself quickly.

_What can I do?_

Then GT remembered. He reached into his pack and pulled out an ascension cable attachment. he clipped it onto his DC-17B and aimed it at one of the buildings.

Then everything went black.

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

Yang had tied up the five thugs while he was checking in with everyone else. Ruby and Weiss naturally weren't as aggressive as Yang and Jared, so results from them seemed to be slow coming. Jared hoped these thugs he and Yang had captured would give some sort of new intel.

Jared listened to TJ's report. It didn't go well. Junior was alive and well, but GT had been nearly killed. Shadow's operation on the other hand went well. The arms deal was dispersed and seemed to provide proof that Shash was up to something.

One of the men started to wake up.

"Where am I?" He babbled.

They were at an abandoned warehouse at the docks, but Jared didn't plan on telling him that.

"Yang," Jared nudged her. "Could you please leave the room?"

Yang gave him a confused look. "Why?"

"I'll do the interrogating."

"I could help." Yang insisted.

"No," Jared waved her off. "The methods of interrogation I have are a bit more... overwhelming..."

"I've done torture Jared."

"No, Yang," Jared switched to a serious tone. "You really haven't." He took a breath. "Could you please leave the room?"

Yang sighed, then nodded.

"I'll be near the car." Yang said as she strolled outside.

Jared kept his helmet on for this. The fierce red visor on his black helmet frightened most people, especially during interrogations. The culprit never knew what kind of trouble he was in or what the interrogator was thinking. All they saw was the visor. Jared walked up the the conscious man.

"So," he started. "You know about the men in red and white armor."

"I don't know what you are talking about." The man replied sternly.

"Well, you see, I know you do," Jared chuckled. "You've already admitted it to my lady friend. What was that you said?" Jared played a segment of the sound recording of Yang's first encounter with them.

"I have no recollection of saying that."

Jared chuckled and shook his head. "Do you think I'm a cop? Is that it?" Jared punched him in the gut. "Wrong. You don't know a thing about me, and I will tell you one thing. I'm the furthest thing from a cop right now. You see, the men in white armor, they hurt and have killed a few of my friends. I'm not going to let that slide."

"Do you think I've never taken a beating?" The man coughed. "The Nova do worst beatings if you are late for a job."

"Oh, so you know exactly who they are now, huh?" Jared confirmed. "Well I'll tell you something, I will beat you, don't get me wrong in that. What you should be worried about, is what else I'll do." Jared pulled out his vibroblade. "Shall we begin?"

-Yang 3rd Person POV-

Yang was cycling her dust shells through her Ember Cecilias. She flicked her wrists around, hearing the satisfying clicks as the revolving shells shifted into place.

She saw Jared come out. She folded her gauntlets back into their resting form.

"So how'd it go?" She asked.

"Swell." He replied.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"What did he say?"

"Something interesting," Jared answered. "I'll explain once we get back to Beacon."

-Shash 3rd Person POV-

Shash woke up with an alarm on his HUD. It was time to get up. He quickly acknowledged the alarm and looked over to the other bench in the cargo bay of the Bull-Head Dropship. Detta was sleeping with his DC-15S cradled in his arms, head laid back against the wall. Shash looked down and saw that he himself had his hand on his sidearm. It never hurts to be careful, and Shash has been on enough missions, whether it was splattered in mud inside a bush or down in a dark unpopulated alley. If you were asleep, keep your weapon in hand.

Shash got up and walked towards the cockpit, nudging Detta to wake up along the way. The boy cringed at the sudden push and clutched his weapon tightly, then released when he realized it was his leader.

As Shash approached the cockpit, he heard the pilot on the radio.

"This is dropship 535, carrying 21st Nova Commander," he spoke. "Request permission to land?"

"Say again 535?" The voice through the radio responded. "Commander Shashank?"

"Affirmative."

There was a small pause before the voice spoke. "Roger 535, land at bay 3. Over and out."

"Status?" Shash asked the pilot.

"We are landing sir." The pilot replied.

"Understood."

Shash walked off to the cargo bay finding Detta wide awake.

"Ride over, buir?" He asked.

"Mhm."

"I hope Sio and Seoul set up a warm welcome for us." Detta joked.

"It took you only two encounters with Jared to make you a joker?" Shash shook his head in disapproval. "Don't try to be funny Detta, it doesn't suit you."

Detta switched to a more insecure posture, slouching as a kid would respond to a parent's scolding. Detta was by far the easiest to keep in check out of his entire squad. Seoul may have always been the most loyal, but she was as loyal as a soldier. Detta was as loyal as a son, and while Shash never thought of him as one, he didn't try to change his appeal to him. It got the job done.

Finally the doors opened into a large hangar. Shash and Detta stepped out and made their way to the Nova quarters. On the way, Shash noticed large amounts of missing armaments. Seoul was doing her job. Good.

When Shash opened the door to their room, he found Seoul and Sio already standing at attention, helmets at their sides.

"Welcome back sir." Seoul greeted.

"Thank you," Shash replied and removed his helmet. Detta followed suit. "Now I hope you haven't let this place fall into disrepair. I don't want to clean up another mess."

"Negative sir." Seoul and Sio replied in unison.

"Report." Shash ordered.

"Almost everything has gone according to plan," Seoul started, then exchanged glances with Sio. "But we've run into a few kinks down the road."

"Define _kinks_." Shash sighed in anger.

"One of the arms deals got busted." Seoul stated. "It was Shadow."

"The hit on Junior was also a failure." Sio grinded his teeth.

"Don't tell me you missed, Sio." Shash shook his head.

"I was foiled by Shadow's men." Sio explained. "Junior ducked before I fired. He was told to take cover."

"At least tell me that the leak has been dealt with."

"That I can answer yes." Seoul smirked. "One of Designer's."

"Of course it is." Shash rolled his eyes.

"Designer is becoming a problem sir." Seoul pointed out. "We should take him out."

"How is the virus, Sio?" Shash asked.

"It's taken longer than expected to chew through Designer's security unnoticed, probably because he checks it routinely, but it should be done soon."

"Then we'll take him out soon. I'm leaving that to you Seoul." Shash nodded at her. "But Shadow and his team are getting close, and they will get extremely close if they begin to work with Designer. I don't want to give them the opportunity to stop me." Shash paused to think a few moments. "We're advancing our schedule. Move to phase III and prepare for final phase. It's time for me to go home Seoul."

Seoul nodded and followed Shash outside. They exited the white fang complex and made their way to a cave. The cave was much like the same one that Shadow and his team had disappeared in when the Nova were sent to retrieve them. And it looked very similar for good reason. Shash reached the end of the cave, funding a large cavern with the same artifact Shadow and his team had been sent to retrieve. The crystal.

"Have you figured out how to control it?" Shash asked.

"Yes." Seoul answered. "Just touch it and everything you wish to take with you will follow."

"You are sure it works?"

"I had a soldier test it." Seoul explained. "Just remember to concentrate on what you are bringing and where you are going, no matter how much your head hurts."

Shash winced, remembering the sudden flash of pain he had when he and his team transported. "Understood."

Shash placed his hand on the crystal on concentrated. The place faded to black and the pain arrived. Shash didn't dare stop concentrating. He was bringing himself and his armor, and he was going to Coruscant.

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Everyone was back at team TJGJ's dorm. GT and TJ were the last ones to return, as a result of an injury. For the most part, today was a success. Now it was time to use that success to their advantage.

"Alright everyone," Shadow got their attention. "Let's go over what happened today. I'll start. Blake, Tested and I were able to take out the arms deal. This arms deal included to scoring of military grade technology, something Roman has gotten his hands on before. At the site, Roman seemed to be dealing with some shady gangster. He didn't seem to buying the weapons off him, but rather smuggle them. Now what we don't know is of Roman has done this before with other crime bosses, but we should expect something big happening."

"As for knowing our enemy," Tested added as he displayed holographic files from hid datapad. "We encountered Nova ARC-5657, going by the name Seoul."

"She seems to be tougher and stronger than most of the Nova." Shadow piped in.

"Hold up," Jared stopped him. "Did I hear a she?"

"In fact you did, Jared." Shadow acknowledged, then turned to Tested for explanation.

Tested switched to another file. "Clone batch 675. A batch that the Kaminoans made a mistake, forgetting to add the hormone that would make him male."

"That's one hell of a mistake." Jared joked, then received an elbow jab in the side by Yang.

"What's wrong with _girls_, Jared?" She frowned.

"Well, these Kaminoans think scientifically." He explained. "And scientifically, males tend to be physically superior to females."

"Well that's sexist." Weiss scolded.

"Yeah!" Ruby agreed. "What are you trying to say?"

"Hey, well I'm just saying from their point of view-"

"Jared," Shadow cut him off. "You are in a room with four girls that are training to become warriors. I suggest you shut up."

Jared looked around at team RWBY's glares. "Yes sir." He replied uncomfortably.

"Anyways," Tested brought the conversation back on track. "The Kaminoans decided to keep them around for a bit, but when they started to prove ineffective compared to the standard clones, no offense to the ladies in the room, they were ordered destroyed. Luckily, this was during the time of the clone wars, so the Jedi managed to save them and keep them as part of the military."

Tested switched the hologram to a profile of Seoul.

"Well," Jared seemed surprised. "Can I be the first to say that she's actually pretty hot-"

"Girlfriend in the room." Shadow coughed to cut him off.

Yang was giving him a glare.

"What I meant was," Jared explained. "If we were all girls, we'd look pretty hot."

"Nice save." Shadow heard GT mutter.

Shadow motioned Tested to continue.

"Shash has reported Seoul as a very determined soldier, which is understandable given the amount of discrimination the female clones have received. Whether it was from the Kaminoans or combat instructors, or their fellow brothers."

"I have an ID on the last unknown Nova." TJ informed. "He was the one who was sent to kill Junior."

"And was the one that nearly got me." GT added. He cracked his knuckles at the thought of him.

"He did get you," TJ corrected. "Tagged you an inch and a half from your heart, then kicked you off a roof. You're just lucky that dumpster broke your fall."

"Are you alright GT?" Shadow asked.

"I'll be better once that one is dead."

"The bolt didn't hit any major arteries," TJ answered. "He's lucky, but he has a minor concussion from hitting the rim of the dumpster during his fall. It'll last about a day or two."

"Who was the Nova you encountered?" Jared asked.

"He went by the name Sio." GT replied sourly.

Shadow noticed Tested already pulling up his files.

"Nova ARC-6066," he explained. "Shash's most skilled marksman."

"Didn't seem that good." GT crossed his arms.

"One of his mission reports is three confirmed headshots from two klicks away." Tested looked at GT. "He took out the droids manning an anti air gun emplacement."

"Challenged accepted." Ruby hefted Crescent Rose in it's Sniper Rifle mode.

"Despite the fact that I haven't seen you try to snipe properly Ruby, that is something that many experienced military snipers call an impossible shot."

"Moving on," Shadow ushered. "Jared, what did your team uncover?"

Shadow received a shrug from Ruby and Weiss, but Jared seemed to have something.

"After a persuasive interrogation," Jared gave Shadow the look. "I have found out that Roman Torchwick and the White Fang had been working on something big. Here's the catch; whatever he is working on, it's not in Vale."

"Atlas?" Blake suggested.

"Shash wouldn't be working on an endgame in Atlas." Shadow stated. "If he was, then I wouldn't had been held prisoner there. Let's not forget that even if he did, he would certainly move out after the attention received by the Atlesian Military."

"Vacuo? Mistral?"

"Maybe, but maybe not..."

"He's not going to operate in Grimm territory," TJ said. "It's too hot."

"Well?" Jared demanded a suggestion.

"We need more intel," Shadow stated. "We don't know what Shash is planning or what his next move is-"

All of a sudden the room burst into flames and Shadow was flying up to meet the ceiling. On the way down, he felt himself hit something hard, then rolled down a landslide of rubble.

When the ringing in his ears stopped and his vision cleared, he looked around, seeing he was in the floor below TJGJ's dorm. He got up as quickly as he could and slid his hood on. He ran through his tactical instruments to see through the dust and smoke obscuring his vision. He saw what hit them. An Atlesian Paladin bearing the symbol of the White Fang. He eyed his motion tracker, noting his Friend or Foe system. He counted all of them. Everyone was moving. Almost everyone. He realized Blake was not popping up. That only meant one thing; she wasn't moving. What that could mean, is only something Shadow wished was false. He heard the Paladin outside cycle it's missile ammunition. It was getting ready to fire again. It didn't matter whether they could see Shadow. He knew that they also had motion sensors and different ways to track targets. He had to move, but first, he needed Blake.

"Blake!" He called out. "Blake where are you?!"

This is where Shadow started seeing the flaws in his hood design. Nothing shielded his eyes from the smoke and dust, making them burn and redden. Nothing shielded his mouth so dust kept climbing in and drying it out. Nothing was filtering the air around him so he began choking and coughing as he called for Blake. He couldn't deal with this right now. He kept blinking, no matter how much it burned and teared him up. He kept spitting out the dust that climbed into his mouth, drooling onto his armor and the ground. He covered his mouth as he inhaled lightly and let go when he exhaled hard. He was going to find her.

Shadow switched to his thermal scope and began scanning the rubble. Then he found her, shaped as if she was on her side. He began digging, focusing in the head first. Breathing was always a first priority. Then he started digging her torso out. As he dug, he saw a red sight make contact with him. He turned to its source. It was the Paladin. It had taken aim. Having no other choice, he dug his arms around her and pulled her out with all of his might. When the heavy dust cannons fired, Shadow sprang away as hard as he could. The dust rounds obliterated everything where Shadow was moments ago.

Then Shadow received contacts on his motion tracker. He threw Blake over his shoulder and equipped one of his DC-17B sidearms. He kicked the door down out of the room and shoved the weapon into the first target he could find. The barrel of the weapon found its way into the cheek of a White Fang soldier. He instantly pulled the trigger, frying half of his face off. If Shadow hadn't had something protecting his hands, they would've burned at a in discharge from this range. He quickly aimed down the hallway, shooting down two more White Fang members. He moved through the hall until he reached the fire escape. He kicked the door down and made his way out to the rear of the building. Then he realized he forgot about everyone else. He flipped on his commlink.

"Guys! Are you alright?!" He called. "This is Shadow, anybody, talk to me!"

He heard combat chatter from several voices.

"Enemy artillery outside!" Jared warned.

"Defensive positions!" Tested cried. "We're under siege!"

"GT! C'mon! Respond brother!" TJ was calling for him.

The combat chatter was interrupted by another Paladin. This time it was right behind Shadow. He had nowhere to run. Then an explosion protruded from its back. Its torso spun to face it's new threat, then another explosion tore into its cockpit, followed by another. Shadow moved out of the way as it topped backwards on fire.

"Well are you just going to sit on your ass all day?!" He heard the loud and sarcastic voice of Designer. "Or are going to get moving!"

Shadow shook his head and smiled as he jogged over towards him with Blake cradled in his arms.

"Boy am I glad to see you Designer." Shadow greeted.

"That goes both ways." Designer replied. "We've gotta move. I have something important."

"What is it?"

"I'll explain on the way," Designer promised. "Just get in the van." Designer pointed at a black van parked on the campus grounds.

Shadow was about to follow, but paused. He turned back towards his flaming building, and remembered the voices of despair he heard on the commlink.

"Hey!" Designer called from the driver seat of the van. "What are you fucking waiting for? A fucking invitation?" Get the fuck in the van!"

"No!" Shadow replied.

"What do you mean no?!"

"My friends need me!"

"Shadow they will be fine!" Designer assured. "This cannot wait."

"I can't just leave them!"

"Boy I will stun your ass and drag you into this van!" Designer warned. "They will be fine! What happens next is going to be the problem!"

"You can't know that!"

"Yes I fucking can!" Designer shot back. "I don't have to be fucking wizard to make that happen. This is a school for warriors in training! Why the hell would they not be fine?!"

"Information can wait!"

"Get in the fucking van and I'll show you how important it is!"

Shadow wasn't going to leave his friends behind, he couldn't.

"Shadow!" Designer pleaded. "Can you fucking trust me this fucking time?!"

When Designer excessively swore, that was always a cue to listen to him. Whatever he has must be really important to be this persistent. Shadow nodded. He quickly secured Blake in the back seat and got in the passenger seat. As soon as Shadow's seat belt clicked in, Designer floored the acceleration. Shadow stared at the burning building where he left everyone. He hoped that Designer was right, otherwise Shadow would never forgive himself, or Designer.

-Tested 3rd Person POV-

The room lit up like a blaze, throwing Tested into a wall. After the stun from the blast wore off, he looked around. The area was clouded with dust, smoke and ash. Tested fanned away as much as he could from his face until he found his helmet. He shut his eyes, exhaled as hard as he could, then slipped his helmet on. Only after his helmet sealed did he open his eyes and breath normally. It was a funny thing about the air filters in their helmets; they filtered out air to make it safe, but they didn't filter out odor. The whole place smelt like chalk, ash and concrete, but it wouldn't harm him. He scanned the area around him. The way the GAR designed their helmets allowed Tested to see through the smoke almost clearly.

The SBH already had their helmets on. Jared was peering out of the hole where the wall to facing the outside was, prior to the explosion. Other than the wall that was gone, there was a giant hole in the floor. Testee looked for the others. GT was motionless on his back while TJ was shaking him. The girls we're coming to, coughing and rubbing their eyes from the dust and debris.

Tested switched on his commlink to hear what the SBH we're saying.

"Enemy artillery outside!" Jared warned.

"GT! C'mon! Respond brother!" TJ was shaking him.

Then the door to the room was kicked open. His combat reflexes kicked in. He clawed at the ground in search of his weapon. Then he grabbed it, his DP23. He aimed down the doorway at the White Fang soldier that was coming through, and pulled the trigger. The spray of the eight round burst went straight through his torso and even lit it on fire for a split second at this range.

"Defensive positions!" Tested cried. "We're under siege!"

Tested suppressed the doorway, making sure no one came through. Jared fired a grenade from his anti armor attachment on his DC-17M. After a loud boom, several screams were heard. Tested charged and cleared the entrance, killing off any White Fang members that survived the blast or were stunned. Then he heard more explosions behind him.

"It's a Paladin!" Jared stated. "We have to move!"

TJ came out first with GT on his shoulder. He laid him down in the hallway. Then Jared came out, assisting Yang. TJ took Tested's spot and Tested followed Jared back into the room. Jared assisted Weiss while Tested assisted Ruby. Then they all got to the hallway. The SBH let team RWBY rest and recover from the blast and the smoke.

"Tested," Jared nudged him. "Shadow and Blake are unaccounted for and that Paladin wasn't aiming for us, so they probably got out. Me and TJ are going to clear a path all the way to the exit. We'll comm you once it's clear. Protect the girls and try to wake up GT, he has a concussion. You got it?"

"Yes sir!" Tested replied and acknowledges the order, despite the drill of information Jared dumped on him.

Jared nodded then patted TJ on the back. TJ took the sign and the two began rushing down the hallway, weapons trained forward.

Tested kept shaking GT and calling his name.

"GT!" He barked. "Sir! You've gotta wake up!" He wasn't waking up.

Then Yang seemed to recover. She looked at Tested's attempt then grinned.

"If you want to wake a guy up, hit him in the soft spot." She smirked then slammed her fist into his crotch.

GT reacted as he woke, grabbing Tested by the neck and slamming him to the ground. He quickly drew and shoved his vibroblade against Tested's neck. Tested quickly patted GT's forearm to acknowledge himself as a friendly. GT realized, then released him.

"What happened?" GT rubbed his head.

"We're under attack." Tested informed. "You still have a concussion so we had to wake you when you were out."

"And you chose to punch me in the balls..." GT confirmed in disapproval.

"That was Yang." Tested motioned.

GT turned to her. "Keep your hands to yourself." He sighed.

"It worked." She shrugged.

"Well I'm not gonna go around and punch you in the breasts to wake you up now wouldn't I?" GT argued.

"No," Yang grinned. "But you'd like that, wouldn't you?"

GT was obviously made uncomfortable by the question. Luckily, Jared's voice on the commlink interrupted the conversation.

"Tested, we are clear. Straight ahead and you'll see us." Jared assured.

"Can you walk GT?" Tested asked.

"It's a little woozy." GT struggled to stand.

"C'mon big boy," Yang teased as she slid his arm over her shoulder and assisted him up. "Let's go."

Tested made sure that Ruby and Weiss were okay before leading everyone to Jared and TJ's position. After passing by the hallway full of White Fang corpses, they found Jared and TJ guarding a fire exit.

"Let's go!" Jared ordered. "We have to evacuate."

"Going somewhere,_ ner vod_?" A voice came as soon as Tested opened the fire exit door.

Tested quickly stepped back into hallway as soon as he caught sight of Detta. Blue bolts impacted where he was a moment ago.

"Where is he?" Jared asked Tested with a grim tone.

"Two floors up." Tested answered. "DC-15S."

Jared nodded. "I'll hold him off. You guys evacuate."

"I'm coming with you." Yang stated.

"No."

"Jared, he'll kill you," Yang warned. "And this time you won't have GT and TJ to save you."

Jared removed his helmet and looked her in the eyes. "Yang," he said as he pecked her on the cheek. "I'm not giving you a choice."

Jared spun around and kicked the door open, spraying rounds into the stairway a few floors above him.

"Go!" He barked as he slipped on his helmet, then charged up the stairs.

Yang was about to follow but TJ was faster. He quickly shoved her down the steps and made her walk. Tested assisted GT and covered the rear, seeing a few strobes of blue blaster fire move higher and higher up the staircase.

GT began to stumble a bit.

"Put your weight on me," Tested told him. "I can hold you."

Finally TJ reached the bottom of the staircase, finding the door out of the building.

"Tested, hand me GT." TJ ordered. "Everybody out!"

Then Tested heard a light metallic clink hit the ground. He looked over to see the source of the sound. He didn't even have to look to realize what it was.

"Grenade!" TJ and Tested exclaimed almost instantly.

TJ quickly forced everyone out the door as fast as he could, but Tested went in a different direction. He remembered what Jared had told him about this world. Semblances, auras. There was a reason he was able to protect himself against Torchwick's weapon. He threw himself over the thermal detonator and pictured what he did before. He imagined a dome forming around the grenade. He imagined it protecting him, and he prayed that he was right.

_Boom!_

A large thump hit him in the gut with an unbelievable force. He was in the air, spinning, then crashing into the cold hard floor. Then everything faded to black.

-Shash 3rd Person POV-

Shash woke up in the Coruscant Military complex. When he got up, he noticed he was surrounded by several clone troopers, bearing the red markings of the Coruscant Guard.

"Are you okay sir?" One of them asked carefully.

"I'm fine." Shash replied.

"You kind of just appeared out of nowhere."

"Mhm," Shash looked around. He was in the courtyard. "Take me to Supreme Commander CC-088."

The trooper nodded and led the way. Shash looked around the place. It had been a while since he had seen the base. The last time he was here was during the massive insurgency offensive that gave them access to landing troops on the planet. There were still Insurgents on Coruscant, but they were being driven back, slowly.

The trooper stopped at a room with a red door. It slid open, leading to the Supreme Commander himself. He looked up from his desk with widened eyes.

"Commander ARC-1237? Is that you?"

"Yes sir," Shash responded and removed his helmet, "Alive and well."

"Where the hell have you been?"

"It's a very long story," Shash explained. "I will tell it, but first, I need an audience, an SOB high rank and HighCom.

"Well," CC-088 was taken aback by the sudden request. "General Mack is at the Jedi Temple War Room, staging and coordinating an attack on an Insurgent outpost. I was about to head over there now."

"Lead the way, sir."

CC-088 and Shash took a transport to the Jedi temple, accompanied by a squad of shock troopers. Made sense for the leader of the military to be guarded. When the arrived, they made their way to the war room.

Shash found it odd. The Jedi temple was very empty, only seeing padawans and younglings strolling the halls. I guess the Insurgency operations on Coruscant kept them busy.

The door to the war room opened, and Shash saw Jedi General Obi-wan Kenobi, Master Yoda and Mace Windu. Accompanying them was Commander Cody and General Mack, along with his personal squad of Shadow Troopers.

"Evening Supreme Commander," Obi-wan spoke. "Nice of you to join us." His voice was smooth and wise.

"To you as well, Generals." CC-088 replied.

General Mack's eyes widened when he saw Shash.

"I was coordinating an attack with General Mack for his Shadow troopers to soften the defences on the outpost." Obi-wan explained. "It will lessen the casualties for me and Cody as we push for the front-"

"-Commander, you've returned." Mack cut him off, startled at Shash's return. "Where are my men?"

"Along with Appo's?" Cody piped in. "A Torrent Company squad was sent after Shash went missing." Cody explained after the Jedi looked at him in confusion.

"It is a long story along with urgent news," Shash replied.

"Let's hear it." Mack ordered anxiously.

"Shadow and his team of SBH have gone rogue." Shash started. "In an attempt to retrieve them, my team was picked off one by one. Now, I and three others remain. The 501st troopers died before we even made contact with them."

"Shadow went rogue?" Mack asked curiously.

"And has obtained powerful allies, capable of rivaling this military." Shash continued. "I believe they may pose a threat if we do not strike against them."

"Are you certain?" Mace Windu asked.

"I have files to prove it." Shash answered and plugged in a data chip into a holoprojector. The footage showcased Shadow and his team, battling off the Nova. "You may take a look at the other files in your spare time."

"Who is the black haired chick?" One of Mack's squad members known as Cat asked as he eyed Blake.

"Opinions to yourself, Cat." Mack sighed.

"Oh, sorry." Cat apologized and regained his maturity.

"Skilled fighters," Cipher noted. "Who is still on your team?"

"Permission to go by their names?" Shash requested.

"Granted." Mack nodded.

"Nova ARCs Detta, Seoul, Sio and I remain."

"Respects from us, to your fallen comrades, they go." Master Yoda acknowledged. "The nature of this attack you request, you may speak of."

"We do not know what Shadow plans to do, but we have been led to believe that they could attack Coruscant."

"This Military," CC-088 interrupted. "Do you truly believe it can rival us."

"Sir, yes sir."

Everyone around the room exchanged glances.

"And to think we just finished a war," Obi-wan stroked his beard. "We may just be dragged into another."

"Regardless whether we do it or not," Mace Windu interjected. "Our forces are spread thin. To mobilize such an attack force would take a month."

"Well there is the Third Systems Army is there not?"

"Yes, but we are preparing for a strike that could knock off the enemy supply lines in this quadrant of the planet." Obi-wan shook his head.

"Sir," Commander Cody piped in. "We won't be taking the entirety of the Third Systems Army. Perhaps we can split off a regiment of Airbornes and several Companies."

"We may need the reinforcements," Obi-wan disagreed. "And they should also be kept on standby in case of an emergency."

"As a matter of fact, Master Kenobi," CC-088 brought up. "The 501st Legion is set to return in a week. You may be able to spare the men for this assault."

"Keep in mind we are talking about an invasion force." Mace Windu stated. "That many men may not prove sufficient enough for a said assault."

"Actually," Shash remembered. "The only reason we have been able to remain alive was the fact that we had allied ourselves with a group of locals. They might be able to make up for numbers."

"Commander Shash," Master Yoda asked. "A way you have, to get these troopers to their destination?"

"The same way I got there and back, General."

The Jedi exchanged glances with each other.

"I believe this deserves conference between us." Master Windu suggested. "Commanders Shash, and Cody, may you please leave the room, along with your squad Mack."

Mack nodded and motioned his squadmate out of the room. Shash placed a bug under the holotable discreetly, and then followed Commander Cody out. When Shash got outside, he activated the bug and listened on the conversation.

"Do we seem to be on different pages?" CC-088 asked.

"On different sides, I sense, we are." Master Yoda answered. "General Mack, your thoughts on the matter, I wish to hear."

"Shadow I've known almost personally," Mack explained. "I was the one who brought him into the Shadow Black Hole division. Me and my squad has served with him from time to time. I find it hard to believe he would do something like this."

"Feel that your personal thoughts cloud your judgement, do you?"

"I'll admit, I am one to quickly offer him the benefit of the doubt," Mack said carefully. "But I do not believe it would greatly impact my thoughts."

"I have to agree with Mack." Obi-wan said. "While I have only met and served with him once, I believe that we should offer the benefit of the doubt."

"Careful to trust, we should be." Yoda acknowledged. "Review Commander Shash's files, we can."

"On a side note," Obi-wan turned to Mace Windu and Yoda. "Did something about that story not feel right?"

"Deception you sense, Master Kenobi?"

"I don't know."

"All due respect, Generals," CC-088 interjected. "We cannot go on the face of instinct, or the force. As a military we should go on facts. As such, we can only confirm with the evidence we have been given."

"Then let us review," Master Windu ended. "Master Kenobi, you may continue preparing your assault with General Mack. In the meantime, we can determine what to do about this case."

Shash's listening in was interrupted by Cat. Shash shut off the bug and turned to face him.

"Yes?" Shash asked, annoyed.

"So you say Shadow has gone AWOL." Cat asked suspiciously.

"It is a fact." Shash stated.

"Well, considering your past with Marshal Commander Shadow, you can see why someone like me would suspect differently."

Shash stared him down. "Are you calling me a liar, trooper?"

Cat's obedience kicked in. "Negative sir." He stood down and left to go talk with Cipher.

So it seemed that HighCom would have to think about Shash's proposal. That was alright with him. He knew in the end, the Supreme Commander would shove things his way. It was time for war.

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Shadow was in the passenger seat of Designer's van. He was still thinking about his team, Blake's team. He abandoned then in the middle of combat, just because Designer had something important. He checked the back seat for the unconscious Blake. She was still out.

The drive had been mostly quiet. Shadow hadn't said a word, nor had Designer. Shadow was still angry at the choice Designer forced him to take. He didn't even apologize. Then again, he hadn't said anything. Shadow suspected that Designer knew he was mad at him. They had known each other for a little while.

Designer pulled up on a small, abandoned

two story building. He pressed a button on his wrist and the metal fence slid open. He drove through and backed into a garage. He cut the engine and looked at Shadow.

"Follow me," he ordered him a serious look. "Follow where I walk. Follow in my footsteps. Don't touch anything until I say so. Understand?"

Shadow didn't answer, as if he were confused.

"Unless you have a death wish, follow me exactly. Your very life may depend on it. Understand?"

"Yes." Shadow replied.

"Good." Designer nodded and stepped out.

Shadow grabbed Blake and began to follow Designer. Designer walked almost casually, as if there was no danger at all. Shadow was almost tempted to do the same, but Designer gave a pretty clear warning. The building was pretty simple and from the looks of it, easy to defend. No way in without being spotted and it was hard to receive any flanking power over the defenders. This explained where Designer had been all this time. Then they reached the top floor. The room was nice and open. There was a storage locker one the other side of the room along with four tables in the middle. Two of them had a full workstation of computers. The other two had files and examination equipment.

"Welcome to my humble home." Designer greeted.

"So this is where you've been all this time." Shadow confirmed.

"Quiet side of town, close by Beacon, easily defendable," Designer nudged him. "What else could anyone ask for?"

Shadow looked down at Blake in his arms, then at Designer.

"Oh," Designer got the message. "You can put her on the examination table, just move all the files onto another desk."

Shadow laid her down softly on her right side and put her into a recovery position; he put her right arm under her head and crossed her left leg to keep her from turning. He put together all the files and placed them on the desk. He took notice of the files on team RWBY. Just as he was about to take a look, he was interrupted by Designer, who was evidently clearing his throat.

"The important thing that I called you for," Designer explained as he hit a button on his computer. "Shash hasn't been mainly operating in Vale."

"Yes, I already know that." Shadow rolled his eyes.

"But you don't know where, now do you?"

Shadow suddenly grew more interested.

"That's what I thought." Designer chuckled. "So here's the deal. Earlier today, one of my sources informed me that the Atlesian Military had come up upon Shash's operation. Me, being one sneaky bastard, snuck onboard an Atlesian Command Airship and downloaded information regarding the investigation. A group of soldiers were investigating an odd power signature. They disappeared somewhere in the ocean. Now I cannot tell exactly where they were searching when they went missing, but I can get a certain area."

"I honestly doubt Shash or the White Fang could build an underwater base." Shadow said.

"Exactly," Designer nodded. "What I think, is that there is an island out there, and that is Shash's main HQ."

"Show me the coordinates." Shadow demanded.

Designer slipped a map onto another computer screen.

"Closest I can narrow it down to." He explained.

"That is very close to Vale." Shadow pointed out.

"Not exactly a place you can swim to." Designer said. "Now, let's be honest, everytime that we've faced Shash's team, we've gotten our asses handed to us."

"Not always."

"We've been rather lucky these days."

"So what do you recommend?"

"We should recon the island." Designer suggested. "Take a few of your SBH. Don't take Tested or any of the girls."

"What do you have against them?" Shadow crossed his arms.

"Okay," Designer sighed. "Let's be honest. Who has been trained for stealth infiltrations?"

Shadow didn't answer.

"That's what I thought. Now I can get a Bullhead Dropship for-"

"Wait," Shadow stopped him. "Did I hear a "we"?"

"Yes," Designer replied. "You don't have to rub it in my face."

"And here I thought you worked better alone." Shadow chuckled. "This'd kind of ruin your lone wolf status."

"Shadow," Designer sighed in sorrow. "Just leave it."

"I'm a bit curious of the change in heart."

"Look," Designer paused to think of an explanation. "What is your main priority?"

"My friends."

"Exactly."

"Is there something wrong with that?"

"No not at all." Designer shook his head. "It's just that, you aren't a soldier anymore."

"What are you talking about?" Shadow was confused. "I've been a soldier all of my life."

"Shadow, you have a home here, a life, you even have a girlfriend. You are pretty much AWOL now. Before you argue, think about it. When did you plan on finding a way back home?"

Shadow was about to defend himself, but then realized. Designer was right. Shadow had never planned on going home, back to the Military, back to the fighting, away from Blake. If no one brought up this topic, he would've lived the rest of his life here.

"And that boy, Tested, still thinks he's going home, and you haven't told him the truth."

Tested. He was probably the only one of them who was still a true soldier. Designer was right. Shadow hadn't told him that this is a permanent stay. He wondered, how would Tested react to this news?

"That's why I didn't want to get you and your friends involved when I got here." Designer explained. "I'm still a soldier. I'm still part of the Republic. Shash and his team; they're my responsibility. I'm the one who is supposed to look after them, to keep them in check. But now, let's just say I've had a bit of a wake up call."

"What happened?"

Designer took a deep breath before explaining.

"You remember when you brought up the topic of a person named Elias?"

Shadow nodded.

"Yeah," Designer continued. "Well he was one of my contacts. My best one, and my last one. He was in deep cover; a member of the White Fang, and he has been leaking intel to me. Finally, when I got really close to finding Shash, he was discovered. I nearly got killed along with him." Designer looked up at Shadow. "I can't do this alone."

"I'm glad you asked for help." Shadow said then placed his hand on Designer's shoulder. "And I'm sorry about your friend."

"And I'm sorry I wasn't there to save Titus."

"Uhh... Shadow?" Designer tensed up.

"Something wrong Designer?"

"Did you realize that your feline friend has been listening in on our bromance?"

Shadow quickly turned towards an awoken Blake, glaring at Designer.

"You could've used my name." She pointed out.

"Blake sounds boring." Designer chuckled. "Might as well call you _Black_."

"Designer," Shadow heard something. "Are you expecting someone?"

"Considering no one knows I'm here, no."

Shadow walked over to the boarded up window and peeked through the openings.

"Well the phalanx of vans gathering outside is telling me otherwise."

Designer jolted to Shadow's window and looked through. The rear doors of the van opened, revealing the White Fang.

"Shit." Designer cussed under his breath. He ran over to his computer. "How did they find me?"

"I count more than twenty." Shadow announced as he slipped on his hood. "Oh look, more vans and soldiers."

"What the hell?" Designer exclaimed. "My turrets are offline!"

"Turrets?"

"My database is corrupted!" Designer slammed his fist into the table in fury. "A virus has taken everything offline. Only the manual traps are functional."

"What manual traps do you have?"

"Tripwired explosives, homemade mines, shard bombs, trapdoors,-"

"That won't hold all of them, and I don't think we can."

"If I can reboot the system, I can trick the virus into thinking it's job is complete, and it will shut down. But it's going to take a bit to get the turret system online."

A few thuds came from downstairs, followed by screams.

"Something tells me they've hit the mines." Shadow guessed. "What weapons do you have?"

Designer took him to the weapons closet. He gave him a few thermal grenades and kicked and ammunition clips.

"Need anything else?" He asked.

"Negative."

"Good." Designer said with a gleeful tone as he opened a secret compartment. "I've been dying to use these."

Designer slung his DC-15X and an RPS-6 rocket launcher. He strapped a spare DC-15S to his chest and grabbed his prize. He swung out a Z-6 rotary blaster cannon.

Shadow looked at him in disappointed expression.

"What?" Designer shrugged. "Too much?"

"Maybe a teenie bit."

"They're here!" Blake cried.

Designer ran all the way to the hallway leading up to their room. Shadow saw the dust bolts fly over his head. He reached for a light switch and yelled "Get down!"

The lights went on in the hallway and glass shards flew everywhere, killing everything in the hallway. Shadow got up from cover and pulled out a shard which had caught onto his hood. There were eight dead bodies in the hallway.

Designer ran over to his computer and hit a few keys to reboot the system.

"Five minutes." He stated. "Blake, stay here and power everything up after five minutes. Go over to the system defences and activate the defence turrets. Shadow, let's go!"


	25. Chapter 25

-Shash 3rd Person POV-

Shash was eying the assembly of the Third Systems Army. The white and orange sea moving into formation, LAATs picking up AT-TEs and infantry, particularly airborne. It was nice to see the Grand Army of the Republic still operating at peak efficiency. Shash's overwatch was interrupted by the arrival of a clone officer, bearing the markings of the 212th battalion.

"Commander Shash, sir!" He saluted.

"At ease." Shash rolled his eyes behind his helmet. He normally preferred the company of his men over the normal grunts. "What is your name soldier?"

"Lieutenant Parce."

"And what did you come to tell me?"

"Your operation has received a green light from High Command," he stated. "You will be dispatched with 2 companies of infantry and a company of airborne. I would tell you more, but you are wanted at the docks. That is where the mission briefing would begin."

"Understood," Shash nodded. "Let's get under way."

The lieutenant led Shash to a transport, which took them to the docking bays. Shash continued to follow the lieutenant to a briefing room where Supreme Commander CC-088, Jedi master Yoda, and an officer bearing the markings of a Marshal Commander stood over a holotable. Shash saluted immediately as he walked in.

"At ease, Commander." The Supreme Commander motioned him forward.

"Reached a decision we have," Master Yoda announced. "Approved, your mission has been.."

"Indeed." CC-088 nodded. "You will be accompanied by a small attachment of the Third Systems Army under the command of Marshal Commander Felwinter."

"Pleasure to be working with you." The Marshal Commander stuck out his hand. "Your reputation for solo missions along with the reputation of your 21st Nova squad precedes you."

"Thank you, sir." Shash shook his hand. Shash didn't like the attention, especially when his files about the Special Operations Brigade are classified.

"I wanted to speak to you personally about the secondary force you have that will make up for the numbers of our invasion." Felwinter continued.

"What do you wish to know?"

"Are they armed?" He asked curiously. "Are they trained? Are they capable of working with us?"

"They have amassed quite an arsenal and are willing to fight." Shash chose his words carefully. "While they might not be on par with tactics and training compared to our troops, they can fight."

"And what of the enemy?" The Marshal pressed on.

"I assure you," Shash replied. "With the remainder of my team running operations on ground, the enemy won't know what hit them."

"And we have a way of getting there?"

"Leave that to me."

-Tested 3rd Person POV-

"Sir, wake up."

Tested's eyes opened. He had fallen asleep in the corner.

"Tested." The familiar tone of Don appeared. He was standing over him.

Tested shook off the wake up feel and got up.

"What is it?" He asked. "Has our distress call been answered?"

"Not yet," Don sighed in disappointment. "But the prisoner is up."

"Understood."

Tested walked over to where Vin had cuffed her to a set of pipes that protruded from the wall. Vin had put tape over her mouth. Tested eyed her physical features. She was a caucasian in her late teens, already an adult. Her hair was a silky light brown and her eyes were dark, almost as black as open space. She was frightened, but she seemed to be someone wanting to fight back. Tested removed his helmet.

"Don't shout, don't scream," he ordered. "Do not raise any alarm and we will not hurt you." Tested looked at her straight in the eyes sternly to make his point. "Clear?"

The girl nodded slowly. Tested, satisfied that she would obey, slowly peeled the tape from her mouth. She bit her lips to relax them from the tension received by the tape.

"Alright, now I'm going to ask you a few questions." Tested continued. "Where are we?"

The girl didn't reply. She just continued staring at Tested.

"I'll ask again." Tested warned."Where are we?"

"Is this a joke?" She finally spoke.

"No ma'am." Tested replied.

"Are you all retarded?"

"Please refrain from insults and answer the question ma'am." Tested said sternly. "I've been asking nicely."

"Remnant." The name slipped off of her tongue, still as confusing as before. "Where else?"

"It is not a Republic designated planet. Which star system is this?"

"Star system?" She looked at them confused. "It's Remnant, the Kingdom of Atlas. What do you want? A history lesson?"

"Yes." Tested stated.

The girl looked at him and scoffed. "Let me go."

"I'm due for an explanation. How fast you decide to talk, is up to you.

"Will you let me go?"

"I will let you go after our questions have been answered." Tested said carefully.

"Then ask away."

"What planet are we on? And in which star system?"

"First of all, I don't know what the hell you are talking about with star systems, second, I've already answered. We are on the world of Remnant in the Kingdom of Atlas. Atlas is one of the four Kingdoms residing on this world. The other three are Vacuo, Mistral and Vale. Everything else on land holds dangerous creatures called Grimm."

Tested didn't understand where he was. He had a feeling they were somewhere else, somewhere far away. He hoped the Marshal Commander would pick up his signal. The faster he got out of here, the better.

"What is your name?" Tested pushed on.

"Is that relevant?"

Tested was about to answer but was interrupted by a beeping noise. He turned to Don.

"Sir," Don said gleefully. "We got a response to the beacon. They gave us a set of coordinates to meet up."

"They?" Tested cocked his eyebrow.

"Whoever they are, they are part of GAR."

"Key in the acknowledgement response." Tested ordered, then turned to the girl. "On top of the questions," he added. "I have a favor to ask of you."

"What?" The girl sighed.

"We're going to need some transportation." Tested stated as he eyed the white van.

"Tested!" Tested woke up after taking a hit to his crotch.

-GT 3rd Person POV-

"Yang!" GT scowled in disappointment. "That is not the way to wake someone up!"

"It worked!" Yang shot back with a chuckle.

"You okay Tested?" GT ignored Yang's response. "Tested?"

"Yeah, I'm good, I'm good." Tested insisted, even though he couldn't stand properly.

"Guys behind you!" TJ cried.

GT whirled around to see an Atlesian Paladin aim its heavy guns down at him. TJ has already fired a grenade into the center of its torso. It stumbled back, its armor dented, but it wasn't dead. Still, TJ had bought them time to fall back to cover. GT was assisting Tested when he noticed his brother screaming at something behind him.

"What are you doing!" TJ exclaimed.

GT turned to see team RWBY getting ready to face it. "Just go!" Ruby replied.

"Yeah," Yang assured. "We've got this!"

"Let's get Tested to safety," GT suggested. "We can come back for them later."

TJ nodded and they made their way towards Professor Ozpin's tower. GT already saw the hunters and huntresses mobilizing to defend their school. He hoped there would be no casualties.

"Incoming!" TJ yelled.

GT turned to see a missile headed towards him. TJ was already in cover. Making the quick decision, he threw Tested into cover then sprang away as hard as he could. Heat rose on his back and he was pushed onto his belly. He didn't bother checking for injuries. He was alive, that's what mattered. He arced his head over to see another Paladin closing in on TJ. He unclipped the DC-17M from his hip and clipped on the anti-armor attachment. As soon as he took aim, he fired. An explosion detonated, but it was too early. Something was wrong. Someone shot the grenade out of the air. There was only one person GT knew that could make that shot on Remnant.

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

Jared had almost chased Detta to the top floor by the time the others had gotten out. The battle between each other had probably lasted only a minute so far, but it felt like an hour. The intensity, the speed, the adrenaline.

"Shit." Jared cussed under his breath as one of Detta's shots glazed off Jared's chestplate.

He rolled into the open unexpectedly and sprayed in Detta's general direction. Unfortunately, none of his blue bolts tagged his target, and Detta exited the main door leading to the rooftop. Jared was going to continue following when he heard a light clinking. Jared's instincts only screamed _grenade!_ He wasn't going to run back down. Instead he sprang forward, landing on the last flank of stairs.

Jared was thanking the Kaminoans that the helmets the SBH were given had sound mufflers, in cases like these.

-GT 3rd Person POV-

GT was flat on his back behind a stack of rubble no higher than his knees. Not the most ideal piece of cover. He was trying to figure out where Sio was. First, he needed to know whether he had been spotted. He took off his helmet and slowly raised it from cover.

Whilst not exactly hitting the helmet, he definitely heard the the bolt scratch the side of his helmet and knock it to the grabbed it and put it back on. Obviously he had been spotted, but he needed to know where Sio was. GT tossed a thermal a few meters ahead and used to explosion to mask his escape. As soon as the explosion went off, GT sprinted to his right, taking cover behind an arc formation. He took a moment to peek out of cover. Then he saw it. The faint glare of white and red armor. Sio was in a group of crates next to a loading truck, barely visible to anyone not willing to take a closer look. GT quickly popped his head back into cover as soon as he saw the blue muzzle flash. He clipped on the sniper attachment on his DC-17M and flicked on the holographic scope. He still had a concussion, so he had to be careful. Forcing away the dizziness as much as he could, he popped out into a crouch, lining up his sight with Sio as quick as he could. He pulled the trigger three times. Sio took cover.

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

The shock wave of the explosion passed over his body as he laid flat. He immediately trained his rifle on the door in front of him after the blast. He got up slowly and took a quick peek over his shoulder at the structural damage. There was a large hole in the staircase, leaving no conventional way down, but that wasn't Jared's priority right now. He'd find another way after he had taken care of Detta.

He moved up against the door and booted it open, just narrowly ducking under a shot. Reluctantly, he dived into a roll out of the doorway then opened fire. Detta sidestepped out of the way but wasn't fast enough for all of Jared's shots. One round knocked the DC-15S out of his hands. But Jared noticed something in Detta's other hand. He tossed something else as he spun and dropped to avoid Jared's shots. Jared saw the tossed cylindrical object too late.

-GT 3rd Person POV-

GT finally reached Sio's previous spot. He eyed around the maze of crates. Even in broad daylight, being camouflaged didn't matter when you were in a maze. _If only the crates weren't stacked that high_.

_Crack!_

A shot got him in the back. Pain rang through his shoulder blades. He turned and fired, the bolts missing their target. Sio rolled back into an intersection.

GT rushed after him, turning the corner and ducking, a round whizzing over his head. He returned the shot, striking Sio's weapon out of his hands. He growled in anger and turned another corner. GT paused to feel his back, finding out where the shot had hit him. It was somewhere on the right side midway down his back. He ignored it and decided to press on. He had to take down Sio and finish this.

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

Even with his protective equipment in his helmet, nothing protected Jared from being stunned. His vision went white and there was a loud ringing in his ears. He clenched his teeth together and blinked hard to wear off the effects. _It must have been a concussion grenade_. By the time Jared's vision cleared, Detta's fist was already connected with his cheek. Jared whirled off from the blow and almost countered the second punch. Jared was about to throw a roundhouse blow but was booted right in the gut, landing on his back. Instinctively, he somersaulted backwards onto his feet and got ready for Detta's oncoming sidekick. He sidestepped and deflected the attack away and spun into a backhand, smacking Detta across the face. Not waiting for Detta to throw another punch, Jared got in close and uppercutted Detta, then spun onto a sidekick, knocking Detta back a few paces. Detta shook off the attack and growled. He charged and ejected his forearm mounted vibroblades. Jared reached back for his Katanas, swinging downwards and the two met blade to blade.

"Getting a little aggressive now are we?" Jared taunted with a sly bit of humor.

"Well what do you expect in combat?" Detta shot back and shoved Jared back.

"I'm just saying," Jared continued as he blocked two slashes. "You aren't being as talkative as last time."

"You mean when I kicked your ass?" Detta made an overhead strike that Jared brought his swords up to block.

"I was drunk and drugged," Jared shot back. "But not this time."

Jared held his breath and time slowed. Detta's little struggles of motion turned into someone lagging with extreme slowness. He whirled around the slow moving Detta and made a dual slash on his back. He released his breath, watching Detta arc back in pain. He spun into a roundhouse kick, hitting Jared in the side. Jared stumbled a few steps, just planting his feet before Detta turned into a tornado of attacks. _I think I made him angry_. Jared thought. Jared blocked, countered and sidestepped away from every blow. Detta was forcing him back. Jared took a step back and launched his blades forward. Detta blocked it and the blades smashed together with a loud hum. Detta shoved the Katanas aside and slid all the way to Jared, spinning into a sidekick. Jared lost his footing and realized he was falling off the roof. He held his breath quickly. Time slowed. He had hoped his semblance would freeze time as well as gravity. Otherwise, he would've landed splat. He looked over at Detta, slowing moving to peer down at him from the edge.

Jared came up with an idea. He reached into his belt and pulled out a grapple attachment. It wasn't meant to be fired without being attached to a weapon, but if he just aimed and managed to pull the- there! The line fired, hitting Detta in the chest plate. If he was going down, Detta was coming with him. He released his breath and free fell. He directed his aura down to his feet to break the fall as much as he could.

_Thud_!

-GT 3rd Person POV-

GT moved slowly through the crates, listening for anything. He was almost out of ammo. He didn't pick up the spare clips at their dorm. They would be hard to find now with the large mess.

All of a sudden, a sharp pain hit the right side of his body, near his ribs. Sio slashed at a knife.

"Shash gave me this as a gift you know," Sio explained. "Quality beskar."

GT whirled to hit him with the but of his rifle, but Sio had already moved, placing his hand on the side of GT's head and smashing it into a pile of crates. An odd sense of vertigo washed over him. He blinked hard and shook off the daze as much as he could. He had to stay awake. He felt for his 17M and turned, aiming everywhere around him. Sio was gone. GT got up and realized what this was. Sio was toying with him. He wasn't running to escape. GT had to finish this. He couldn't leave Sio to pick off more targets with a sniper. Either way, he didn't think Sio would let him leave. GT pressed forward, seeing the exit to the maze, leading up to the cafeteria. Then he noticed something, hollow in the wall of crates to his right, but he saw it too late. The knife came at him, slashing on the right side of his chest, leaving a deep cut along his pectoral. The same arm came and slashed the back of his right knee. GT dropped to a crouch, gritting his teeth at the pain. He looked up at the cafeteria, only to see the door close.

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

Jared was okay. He looked around to see where he was. He was moving. No, he wasn't moving. The ground was moving. He was atop an Atlesian Paladin. It must've broke his fall. This was a White Fang Paladin, engaging someone Jared recognized as Professor Oobleck. He was moving around, as fast as Ruby, dodging the heavy dust bolts and missiles being fired at him. Jared was distracted by the fact he was on a Paladin that he almost didn't notice Detta charging at him. Jared quickly felt for a weapon, only having time to grab one Katana block Detta's attack. They locked together.

"Getting tired yet?" Detta asked sounding out of breath.

Jared noticed even himself moving sluggishly, but he refused to let the insult go past him.

"I'm not tired, you're tired. I can do this all day."

The ground beneath them rumbled as the Professor Oobleck brought his club like weapon into the Paladin's side, an explosion joining it. Oobleck spun once more still in midair, firing explosive dust to combine with a second attack to the Paladin's side. It began to topple and Jared and Detta lost their balance. It finally crashed into another dormitory building.

Two crashes back to back wasn't doing Jared very good. He looked up at Detta who was already on his feet, his knees were shaking though and he looked as if he was going to topple over.

"C'mon!" He yelled.

Jared used his Katana as a support, lifting himself up like using a cane. His body ached all over, but he wasn't going to give up.

"Coming right up!" Jared responded as he forced himself forward into a strike, having more of a stuttered charge.

Detta just sidestepped as Jared tripped past him. "Going back down." Detta chuckled.

"You're coming with me!" Jared shot back as he swept his legs under Detta, dropping him to the ground.

Jared took a full two seconds to just catch his breath before looking back at Detta. Detta was crawling towards him, his left vibroblade now ejected far past his knuckles. He brought himself up, and the blade down. Jared quickly moved right, avoiding the attack to his head. Then he place his left forearm over Detta's, locking the bladed arm to the ground. He made a fist with his right arm and swung, smacking Detta across the face, then backhanded. In one last case of energy, he threw one more right cross. Detta's head went toss and his body went limp.

Jared rolled over onto his back, exhausted. He was heavily panting and his body hurt all over. That was it. Detta was down. Slowly, his vision began to fade to black.

-GT 3rd Person POV-

GT booted the door open, his weapon scanning the room. Aside from the sunlight pouring through the windows, the lights were off, making the place seem like a cathedral of a church. He leveled his rifle at each row of tables. He had 4 more shots left. He had to use them wisely. Sio was here, somewhere. He made his way to the buffet, searching. The trays were empty, and Sio wasn't behind the counter. Then GT heard something. Something very silent, the slight drag of a footstep. He turned around and fired. Sio turned to the side to avoid the first one.

"Go ahead, waste your ammo." Sio taunted as he stepped closer and closer.

GT fired again and again, the second shot going past his shoulder and the third over his head. The fourth shot hit Sio, just about three inches above his heart. It didn't matter now. Sio was too close and he was out of ammo. Sio stuck his blade into GT's left shoulder, driving it in as hard as he could. GT's left arm went up to stop him from shoving it through any more. Sio drove him up and down onto the food counter. GT felt the glass roof for one of the trays shatter as his back impacted on it.

"That hurt," Sio remarked as he took a quick look at GT's shot. "But it won't stop me."

Just as Sio pulled the blade out and almost made the killing blow to his neck, GT drew his sword from his back. Burning red, he sliced Sio's bladed arm off mid attack. Sio let out a howl of pain as he clutched the incomplete limb. Using the opportunity, GT whirled around and jabbed the blade into Sio's chest, hearing him stutter out breaths as he drove the sword deeper.

"That will." GT answered Sio's previous statement.

He let Sio fall to the ground, leaving the sword in his chest. It was over. Sio was dead. He looked down at his bleeding wounds and felt the vertigo wash over him once more. He clicked his comm on.

"GT," He said in sharp and shallow breaths. He stumbled and fell to his side. "Position cafeteria. Need help. Need..."

-Shadow and Designer Collective POV-

Get some!" Shadow heard Designer yell as he cleared a hallway with a Z-6. The White Fang soldiers didn't have the time to react.

Shadow pushed down the hall into the stairway with his DC-17M trained on the landing ahead of him. As soon as he kicked the door open to the stairway, he knocked down two more opponents rushing up the stairs. Picking up more below him on his motion tracker, he tossed a thermal grenade down the steps and braced behind the entrance. He felt the ground rumble beneath his feet and there was nothing to protect his ears from the boom. He bit down on his teeth hard to ignore the sound, then he rushed over and hopped down the stairwell, using his aura to break his fall. Designer was close behind him as Shadow dived into the room in front of him. As soon as he shot down three Faunus, he rolled behind a desk. Dust rounds were pounding his cover, and his motion tracker said that his enemies were advancing on him. Then Designer came. His storm of ionized rounds mowed down several of them, catching them by surprise. Shadow took the chance. He morphed his weapon into it's grenade launcher form and fired his remaining grenades into a cluster near the entrance.

"Breaching charges!" Designer warned. "Port and Starboard sides! We're being surrounded!"

The walls on both sides of Designer blew inwards, the impact knocking him over. Shadow rushed to his aid. He fired his DC-17M in one hand and pulled out his Dark Sword. He leaped into a whirl and wiped out the trio that was rushing Designer.

Designer got up behind Shadow. He quickly grabbed his Z-6. He aimed and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. _What?_ He thought. _It must have been damaged from the blast_. He didn't want to drop it so he slung it onto the back of his hip. He drew his DC-17B side arms and started dual wielding. Shadow and him stood back to back, fighting off the oncoming waves. Then something slammed him in the back from behind. Designer knew the feeling. It was an explosion. Shaking his head to avoid going into unconsciousness, he looked around for Shadow. He getting up, fighting off the rushing Faunus. Designer was interrupted and almost caught off guard by a white Fang soldier carrying a sword. He struck at Designer, nearly getting him. Designer sidestepped and was nearly dissected by the second blow. He reached back as the third swing skimmed off of his chestplate, and grabbed the hilt of his Vibrosword. The soldier left himself wide open, and Designer had a quick swing. He wasn't ready for the killing blow Designer launched from his neck to his hip. Designer, predicting an opponent behind him, turned and stabbed, striking another Faunus in the gut. He looked over the dead Faunus's shoulder and saw another incoming squad. He reeled the soldier close and used him to shield himself from the oncoming rounds. Designer picked up one of his sidearms and started firing, striking down the White Fang soldiers quickly. This battle was getting hot, and there was still more heat incoming.

-Blake 3rd Person POV-

Blake was just about ready to reboot the system when several White Fang kicked through the boarded windows, leveling their weapons at her. Blake quickly left behind a copy for her enemies to shoot at, and dust round flew everywhere she was seconds ago. She was already at the first attacker before he even knew it. She swung her Gambol Shroud as a sword and slapped him with the flat of her blade. She turned and swept his legs up, taking him down. Her second attacker had just about pulled the trigger when she landed a kick to his jaw. She ducked under the next Salvo of dust rounds and folded Gambol Shroud into a kusarigama form and swung it by a black ribbon. She jumped and twirled mid air as she made lightning fast attacks, disarming her opponents. When she landed, she turned Gambol Shroud into a cleaver and used her aura to launch an energy wave, striking the remaining White Fang in the chest, knocking them all the way to the other side of the room.

Blake looked up at her downed attacker's. Satisfied that they were incapacitated, she sheathed her weapon and walked over to Designer's computer. All of a sudden, she heard a blaster shot. She ducked instantly and heard the round whiz over her head.

"I'm impressed," a female voice chuckled. "You're not dead."

Blake turned Gambol Shroud into a pistol and returned fire, catching sight of the Nova. It was Seoul.

"So you aren't the usual bitch," Seoul taunted. "Fine by me."

Blake stood and fired. Seoul was dual wielding twin DC-17Bs, strafing across the room. Blake was forced into cover quickly, having to avoid the blue bolts flying past her. She had to get the turrets online, or else Shadow and Designer would be overwhelmed. Blake leaped over to the computers, using her semblance to leave a decoy of herself. Seoul took the bait and fired at it, leaving enough time for her to activate the turret systems.

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

There were too many. Shadow gave up on his motion tracker. There were far too many of them to comprehend each single target. Besides, it didn't make a difference. They were all in his face anyway. Shadow was out of ammo and the White Fang were too close for him to utilize his thermal grenades, so he reverted to using his Dark Sword. Designer seemed to have the same idea, slashing at opponents with a vibrosword with one hand and blasting more with a DC-17B in the other. At one point, a soldier grabbed Shadow's bladed arm. He struggled to yank it free but another slammed the but of their rifle into Shadow's chest. Shadow punched the Faunus in front of him and engulfed his bladed arm in Black fire. When the other one let go, he threw an upwards slash, nearly separating his body.

"Designer!" Shadow warned. "Get down!"

Shadow mustered together his black fire and concentrated it into his sword. Then he spun, sending a wave of fire in all directions, clearing the White Fang in a 10 meter radius. Then a dust bolt struck him in the upper right torso. He went down and clutched to wound. It stung like a projectile. This was not a laser. The projectile wouldn't seal the wound. He was going to start bleeding.

As the White Fang soldiers started to approach once more, Shadow felt Designer nudge him.

"Last mag," he said as he handed Shadow a clip for his DC-17B. "Make it count."

Shadow and Designer loaded their last cartridges and grabbed any dead body they could use for cover, lying on their side to prevent being hit. Shadow felt the dust round penetrating the flesh of the dead as he returned fire. Shadow took down five targets, six targets, eight targets, until finally, he heard the click of an empty gun. The Faunus, realizing their opponents were out of ammo, started to rush once more. Shadow felt around for his Dark sword, but couldn't find it. He hunkered down behind the dead bodies with Designer, gripping onto a vibroblade, ready for a last stand.

Then something else happened. There was a loud whirring and all of a sudden, the sound of turbo lasers filled the air. Shadow looked up to see turrets deploy from the ceiling. The heavy weapons tore through the White Fang ranks, and they started to retreat. Shadow wanted to try something, something he had done a little while ago. He summoned what remaining energy he had left and with his black fire, he formed in his hands, an E-Web cannon. Then he let it rip. He fired at the runaway soldiers, mowing them down as they turned to retreat. The tide had turned in their favor.

-Blake 3rd Person POV-

Blake had done it. She felt the floor rumble beneath her feet, followed by the sound of heavy laser fire, but her problems weren't over. She got up quickly and aimed Gambol Shroud in pistol form at Seoul, or where she was a few seconds ago. Blake spun around, searching for her. Even with her Faunus hearing, she couldn't detect her. She reached out using her Aura, sensing the environment around her, searching. Then she heard a slight crack, just a bit too loud... right above her. Seoul dropped down the moment Blake caught sight of her. She leaped out of the way to avoid her blue bolts raining down on Blake's previous position. She holstered her blasters and reached for the vibroblades strapped to her ankles.

"Let's just see how good you are." She sneered.

Blake equipped Gambol Shroud as a sword in one hand and carried the cleaver like sheath in her other, dual wielding the weapons. She lunged forwards, throwing the first slash, whirling around to throw the next. Seoul quickly side stepped away from the first blow and deflected the next. Blake started to launch flurries of spin attacks but Seoul was one step ahead of each strike. She sidestepped, shuffled and blocked attacks with ease. Then Blake started to flank her, leaving decoys for her to attack. It worked, confusing Seoul just about long enough to land a light slash on her right thigh. She grunted in pain and sidekicked Blake on her follow up strike.

"That's a neat trick," Seoul chuckled. "But it won't save you."

Seoul took the offensive this time, flicking her blades at Blake's torso. Blake had to keep backing up as Seoul forced her back. Blake blocked a spin attack and flipped over Seoul, tossing her cleaver like sheath. Seoul moved with absolute coordination, slapping the sheath away in mid air. Blake lunged at her again, using her decoys, but Seoul was keeping track of her this time, and one time, she caught Blake right in the act, slashing her right arm right on the bicep. The cut was quick and felt like Seoul had no resistance. It burned and started to gush red with blood. She applied pressure to stop the bleeding and tried to prepare for Seoul's next attack, but it was too late. She was already on Blake's off side. Seoul elbowed Blake in the face. Blake spun around for a roundhouse kick but Seoul caught it and slammed her elbow into the area where her thigh made contact with her pelvis. A loud crack resounded as the blow was made and Blake let out a shriek of pain. Blake almost collapsed to the ground when Seoul released, but stayed standing to take a hard backhand to the face. She twirled around, almost losing balance. Then she saw Seoul leap up into a butterfly kick, the back of her heel smashing into Blake's jaw, sending her spinning into the ground. Blake was in extreme pain. Her vision was blurring and fading. Seoul was standing over her flicking a vibroblade in her hand, getting darker and darker.

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Shadow and Designer had finally forced the White Fang outside. Designer utilized his RPS-6 launcher. He crouched down and took aim. Boom! A van lit up in flames. The White Fang were loading up into the vans, attempting to escape the rockets Designer fired along with the combined heavy laser fire of Shadow and the turrets.

"Whoohoo!" Designer cheered. "Look at 'em run!"

Shadow stopped firing and dropped to a crouch, allowing the E-Web cannon he had to disintegrate into ash.

"I am certainly glad you set up those turrets Designer." Shadow nudged him.

Then Shadow heard a scream from upstairs. It was Blake. Shadow turned to Designer, seeing that he heard it too.

"Go." Designer nodded at him. "I'll finish up down here."

Shadow picked up his Dark Sword and sheathed it on his back. He sprinted up the steps into the second floor, only to find something that made him unbelievably angry, as angry as the time when Machine held Blake by the throat.

Just before Seoul made the killing blow to a stunned Blake, Shadow sprinted in an speared Seoul in the stomach. They dropped together, but Shadow got up first. Seoul threw a counter blow with her vibroblade but Shadow caught the bladed arm and fire began to burn her. She started to wince and grunt in pain. With his other hand, Shadow grabbed Seoul by the throat and rushed her towards a window, throwing her out as hard as he could. After taking a few moments to calm down, he stepped over to the window to see where she was. All of a sudden blue bolts started whizzing past him. He took cover behind the frame and peered over. Seoul was holding onto a black line, a line leading up to a Bullhead dropship, a dropship that had just deployed its main rotary cannon. Shadow dived away from the window as heavy dust rounds gutted the walls. He picked up the stunned Blake and ran for the stairway. Designer was already there.

"Downstairs ain't good as well." He grumbled. "They are forming up on the streets, preparing to rush the turrets."

"Better the foot soldiers than the heavily armed dropships!" Shadow shot back. "I counted three, and at this rate, they'll drop the building right on top of us!"

"This was meant to take me out of the picture." Designer sighed.

"No shit!" Shadow exclaimed as he and Designer ducked under a heavy dust round.

"I have an idea." Designer beamed. "But you aren't going to like it."

"You have anymore countermeasures?" Shadow asked.

"Yep, and this is my last one."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to drop the building on us."

"Isn't that what we are trying to prevent?" Shadow argued.

"The White Fang footsoldiers and dropships are closing in as we speak." Designer explained. "If I blow the building, we might just get all of them." Designer placed his hand on Shadow's shoulder. "Trust me."

Shadow sighed, seeing as he had no other choice. "Let's go."

Designer quickly made his way over to his computers and tapped a few keys. And grabbed a detonator. He patted Shadow on the shoulder and ran down the stairs. Shadow followed him onto the bottom floor. The area was clouded with dust rounds and laser fire. Two of the turrets were down, and more would soon follow. The White Fang foot soldiers we're about eight feet from the entrances. Designer opened up the a section of the floorboards, revealing a metal door. He keyed in the correct sequence and it slid open.

Shadow and Blake were the first ones in, followed by Designer. He hit a button on the wall and the door slid shut. They were in some small underground passage, the entrance lined with metal.

"So you are sure we'll be fine?" Shadow asked wearily.

"Eh, sure." Designer shrugged.

"Has this been tested?"

"Yes of course," Designer said sarcastically. "Because I've already blown up this building a couple of times to make sure I had the correct amount of layer between us and the explosion. Of course this hasn't been tested!"

"I plan on getting Blake to safety, Designer."

"It should hold."

"Are you sure?"

"Eh," Designer shrugged. "I'm sure, or not sure, one or the other. What difference does it make?"

"Designer!"

"Don't get your panties in a bunch." Designer laughed as he hit the detonator.

-Designer 3rd Person POV-

The moment had passed. In truth, Designer had shut his eyes in fear of possibly being incinerated by the blast. But they were still here.

"Well," Designer brushed himself off. "What did I tell you?"

Shadow got up and punched Designer right in the face. Designer rubbed his face and laughed.

"Don't you fucking do that again." Shadow said sternly.

Hey, I was mostly sure." Designer chuckled.

"Just..." Shadow sighed in frustration and got up off the floor. "Let's get out of here."

"Alright." Designer replied, making sure he still had all of his weapons. "This passage leads to an alleyway with a car. We can head back to Beacon from there."

"Lead the way."

-Tested 3rd Person POV-

Tested sat in the passenger seat of the van. He had his helmet removed along with a DC-17B heavy blaster pistol pressed against the driver's side. The driver was the civilian they had met not too long ago, well, _meet_ wouldn't be the best word. More like held hostage. In the back sat Vin, hunkered down, checking the attachments on his DC-15A. Tested had left Don with Whix back at the driver's garage. He knew what he saw when the crystal spoke to him. The SBH fighting the Nova. _The Black Knights_, the voiced dubbed them. _Save The Black Knights_. That really meant one thing.

"Stop here." Tested ordered the girl.

The hostage stopped the vehicle, irritated, though she didn't say a word.

"Keys." Tested held his other hand out, palm facing up.

The girl grumbled and shut off the car, plopping the keys in Tested's hand. Tested motioned Vin out. As soon as Tested shut the door, he clicked the lock. He didn't want someone to go around giving away their position. The response signal brought them to the darker part of town, a lot different from the gleaming white of the city. The sun was coming down over the horizon and soon the darkness would conceal them.

"This way." Vin said, pointing down an alleyway. "Datapad says through here."

"Roger." Tested acknowledged. "Weapons tight. Check for hostiles."

He brought his DP23 shotgun to bear and trained it down the alleyway. Slowly, they pressed forward. Vin had the grip of his rifle resting on his left forearm as he held the datapad as well.

All of a sudden, three armored figures zipped down from above him. They quickly surrounded Tested and Vin. Tested nearly pulled the trigger on his weapon, until he recognized the armor.

"Hello, Sergeant." One of them said.

"21st Nova ARCs." Tested announced. He quickly opened a private link to Vin, leaving it on standby.

"Well, for starters," the lead one said with a British accent. "We go by names. I'm Kill. These are Strak and Tyre."

The other two nodded with a firm grunt.

"Come with us," he ordered. "We'll bring you to Shash."

Tested locked out his helmet speakers and opened the private link to Vin. "Vin, wait." He ordered sharply.

"What?" Vin asked, his helmet speakers locked out as well.

"Let me talk first." Tested replied, then opened his exterior speakers. "Sergeant Tested, 501st Torrent Company. We were sent after you went missing in action."

"Yes," Kill nodded. "We were searching for the Shadow troopers when they attacked us. They killed our advisor, Designer, and have been picking us off ever since we found them."

That didn't line up with what Tested was told.

"Something is off." Tested said on Vin's private link.

"What is it?" Vin asked.

"You remember when we were transported here?"

"Yes?"

"The artifact, before, in the cave, it showed me something."

"...What..." Vin's voice sounded irritated.

"Kill," Tested continued questioning. "You know why Designer was sent with you, correct?"

"HIGHCOM thought we might need an extra man." Kill answered confidently.

"General Mack stated in his report, that Marshal Commander Shadow and Commander Shash had hostilities to each other." Tested paused, then added, "A coincidence that he is the first of you to die."

"Yes..." Kill now acknowledged suspiciously and looked at his comrades. "A coincidence."

"What are you doing?" Vin asked over the private link. "Tested, we found the Nova, we are safe."

"Vin, it's odd that Designer is dead." Tested explained. "No one is left to control Shash and his men."

"So?"

"You read the files regarding conflicts between the two Commanders?"

"Yes."

"Does something not seem right here?"

"What do you suggest?"

"Vin, I need you to trust me." Tested said as sternly as he could. "Can you do that?"

"You aren't giving me much to go on-"

"Vin. Can you do that?"

There was a sound Vin clicking teeth together over the mic. He must have been weighing the situation in his head. "Tested, if you are wrong-"

"Answer the question." Tested cut him off.

"Yes."

Tested noticed Kill's hands moving closer to his waist, closer to his tucked away DC-15S.

"Are you alright Sergeant?" Kill asked, sounding as if he were ready to kill them right there.

"Vin..." Tested whispered.

"Same with the others."

"Vin, front!" Tested called.

Tested ducked right as Vin whirled his rifle, firing at the two ARCs in front of him. Tested, now in a crouched position fired at the Nova behind Vin. The Nova veered away as he saw the barrel of the shotgun, but the blast it him in the shoulder. He toppled over into a pile of trash bags.

Tested turned back to help Vin. Kill and one of the other Nova seemed to have dived for cover, but they were in good spots now.

"Run!" Tested barked.

The two ran back down the alleyway as fast as they could, bolts flying over their heads. Tested could hear Kill yelling at his men to go after them. At a brilliant sight, Tested turned a corner and saw the van. He stopped right at the back door and tried to open it. It didn't budge. It was locked.

"Open it!" Vin yelled as he took a defensive position.

Tested fumbled through his belt for the keys and hit the unlock button. He yanked the door open and threw the keys at the front. The girl, gasped in shock.

"Drive!" Tested exclaimed.

He could hear the bolts tearing into the van now as Vin dived inside.

"What is happening?!" The girl screamed in horror. She ducked down as shots came through the windshield.

"Just drive!"

As soon as the engines went on, she floored the pedal. Tested was nearly thrown out the open doors, gripping onto a frame just in time. Vin was on his back, firing at the Nova coming from their rear.

"Shut the door!" He cried.

Tested didn't dare let go. He reached for the handle with his foot, finding the space. He pulled as hard as he could and the door slammed shut. He got up and fell back against it, reaching for the other door. A shot passed just a millimeter from his visor and he felt the heat warm his face. He didn't stop. Tested finally reached for the other door, straining his arm, not taking cover from the oncoming shots, then pulled it closed as fast as he could. They were safe.

Vin laid on his back, his panting audible through his speakers.

"Back to your garage." Tested said to the driver after a few moments to breath.

She said nothing, unresponsive and still in shock. Shock was good for the most part. She wouldn't try to escape anytime soon. Tested leaned back against the side and just slumped. _That was too close_. He said to himself. _Too close_._ I better be right..._

"Gah!" Shadow's voice shook Tested back into the present. "Pay attention!"

-Blake 3rd Person POV-

Blake was sitting in team RWBY's dorm. The construction crews had authorized reentry into their building, with the condition of sealed off areas. In the air, an Atlesian airship towered over the campus, sending out fighter patrols and evac ships to send wounded students to the hospital, or take up any captured White Fang prisoners.

Team RWBY, TJGJ, Designer and Tested declined medical transport, leaving their spots to more injured students. Blake was the first one attended to. She glanced at the stitches in her arm applied by Designer. The bacta syringe he carried eased the pain in her bicep. Apparently he said it would also heal the wound faster.

"Yeeaoww!" Blake heard Shadow scream. He was staring at Tested in disappointment as he stitched his arm.

"Sorry sir," He apologized as nicely as possible. "I received minimal medical training on Kamino. I've never had to use it in combat."

"GT can stitch better than you," Shadow grumbled. "And he has a concussion."

Blake looked over at GT lying on Weiss's bed as TJ stitched his wounds, talking to him, keeping him awake. GT's concussion had gotten worse during the fight, but TJ had noticed GT wasn't bleeding. The cuts were there, but no blood came out. Weiss wasn't really happy with him there, his dirty armor on her clean bed.

Designer was on his laptop on their desk, being observed by a curious Ruby while Yang and Jared had gone out to grab anything salvageable from team TJGJ's dorm.

A moment later, Jared and Yang walked in. Yang carried a duffle bag with ammunition clips and hefted Tested's backpack while Jared had a crate with thermals, grenades, and spare weapons.

"Found your trash." Yang teased as she slid Tested's pack towards him.

"We lost a lot of ammunition in the blast," Jared explained. "But we still have plenty. Enough for a good long battle."

"Add Designer's arsenal as well." Shadow nodded at the Z-6 rotary blaster, RPS-6 rocket launcher, and DC-15X.

"Oh that's mine, Shadow." Designer chuckled, still facing his computer."Only I get to touch those."

"Sharing's caring Dessie." Jared teased.

"-Unless of course, you want me to share." Designer continued.

"Nevermind that," Shadow ushered on. "Designer has something to explain."

"Mhm." Designer acknowledged as he ran his forehand through his hair. "While I could explain everything in full detail, it would be pretty much pointless, so I'll skip to the good parts. A few days ago, a group of Atlesian soldiers went missing, scouting a strange energy signature in open water."

"How did you get that information?" Weiss asked suspiciously.

Designer put his hands up in defense, palms facing her. "I'm not gonna lie, I stole it, right from one of the Atlesian command airships."

"You know how many crimes you have all committed, especially recently?"

"I take pride in my work, princess." Designer teased.

"This isn't exactly new to us Weiss." Jared shrugged. "It just depends on your point of view one whether it's right or wrong."

Weiss sighed and crossed her arms in disappointment.

"Continue, Designer." Shadow motioned.

"Right." Designer picked up his train of thought. "Anyways, I found the approximate coordinates of said energy signature, and maybe, and this is a guess, it might be Shash's base of operations."

"So who's up for recon?" Jared asked.

"We'll decide on that later." Shadow assured. "For now, let's go over what just happened right here, at this school." Shadow paused, then added, "And what to tell Professor Ozpin."

"The truth?" Tested shrugged as he finished the stitch and put a bandage soaked in bacta over the wound. "He's the Headmaster of this school and kind of deserves to know."

"I'd love to hear that statement." Designer chuckled. "_Sorry Professor, my arch nemesis sent his boys here to kill us, but don't worry, we'll handle it._"

"Designer's right." TJ nodded. "Ozpin won't let us handle it alone, regardless of where we came from. It'll only put more people at risk."

"But we have to tell him something." Ruby stated. "He'll come around asking questions. We know from experience." Ruby nodded at her teammates. Blake nodded back.

"I nominate Shadow." Jared declared.

"Why me?" Shadow argued.

"Everyone who wants to nominate Shadow," Jared said with a smirk. "Raise your hand."

Everybody raised their hands, including Blake. He was pretty much their leader. It was kind of his burden.

"All oppose?" Jared asked.

Everyone's hand went down.

Shadow sighed. "Fine. Now that we've gotten that over with, let's move on."

"Jared," Designer interrupted, calling Yang's boyfriend. "They haven't found Detta yet. He's still at large."

"Great." Jared muttered as he bit his lip.

"At least Sio is out of the picture." TJ perked.

"Along with a trophy," GT chuckled as he inspected his newly acquired beskar knife.

"Don't lose that," Designer warned. "That metal is a work of art."

"Beskar?" Yang cocked her eyebrow. "Sounds like a bad name for something precious."

"Ember Cecilia, Cresent Rose, Gambol Shroud and Myrtenaster."GT recited without looking up. "Did I leave anything out?"

"Well those are cool." Yang muttered.

"Is anyone curious about the attack today?" Jared speculated.

"What do you mean?" Shadow asked.

"The purpose, I mean."

"Explain."

"Notice how small the attack force was." Jared started. "You don't bring a company of men to take a school trained for warriors. You bring an army. The White Fang stood no chance. They were defeated even before the Atlesian Military arrived. Also notice how all the Nova weren't here. Seoul was busy taking out Designer and Shash was nowhere in sight." Jared paused to let everyone think about it. "Shash isn't one to pass up a good fight, and he knew this wasn't a large enough attack force."

"It was a distraction." Shadow answered sourly.

"-While Shash was off doing something else." Jared finished. "That's the question. He has a plan, and he seems to already be a step ahead of us."

"Another question to bring up is how that attack force got here unnoticed." Designer brought up. "Regardless, they had armored mech stomping around the place. That should've raised alarm far before they attacked your dorm. As knowledge goes, the missile fired at your dorm was the first shot fired in the battle."

There was a beep residing in Shadow's combat belt. He reached and pulled his scroll out. He opened it for a few seconds then closed it.

"Ozpin wants to see me." Shadow sighed. "Jared, prep gear for an away team. Help him out Tested. Everyone else, you are free to go around or rest here for awhile. I want all the guys here around 9:00 p.m."

"Not us?" Blake asked in skeptically.

"Team RWBY isn't going on the away mission." Shadow declared.

"We can do recon too." Ruby insisted.

"Not the way we can." Shadow stated. "Covert operations, our speciality."

"Have fun with Ozpin." Jared chuckled.

Shadow rolled his eyes and walked past him. The entire room shifted as soon as he left. Designer got back onto his laptop and started slip into a deep trance as his hands danced around the keyboard. TJ gave GT a sip of water and continued looking after his brother. Tested went over to Jared, who was already reorganizing their recovered gear.

"Hey Blake," Ruby called. "We're going out for dinner." She motioned to the rest of the team. "Wanna come?"

"Sure." Blake shrugged, not having much better to do.

"Coming Yang?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, coming sis." She replied as she gave Jared a quick hug and peck on the cheek.

There was only one question going through Blake's head at the moment. Where was everyone going to sleep?

-Detta 3rd Person POV-

Detta was hunkered down near the river in front of the campus. He was lying flat on his stomach in the tall grass with mud smeared all over his armor to avoid the glare of the moon. It was a bit of a shame to have to dirty his gear once more, but he had dispatched 2 Atlesian patrol squads, their bodies dumped in the river. Their search patterns we're getting more accurate. He had lost his DC-15S carbine in the conflict and was down to just his wrist mounted vibroblades. Sio was nowhere in sight. Detta even tried to contact him on the shortwave comm channel. It was the only way to establish radio contact with the jamming signals in the air. He had gotten no response from him. This was the established fallback point for the two to escape. If he didn't show up by the time Detta's evac arrived, he was most likely dead.

All air traffic had been blocked by the Atlesian Military. They didn't seem to take this attack nicely. Any minute now, a low flying Atlesian dropship would be his ticket out of here.

Detta froze when he heard a low voice. He listened harder. It wasn't low, it was far away. He activated the built in HUD on his helmet, flicking on the night vision setting. He saw them. A group of five like the others, flashlight fanning the landscape around them. They moved out of cohesion, sloppy, as if they had been doing this all night without any found hostiles. Detta allowed himself a scoff of disappointment. Judging by their travel pattern, he was going to ruin their night.

Slowly they got closer and closer. Their conversation was audible now.

"Tom, you wanna grab a drink tomorrow night?" One of them said.

"Sure." The other replied. "But you're paying."

"I paid last time."

"But I paid for your lunch today."

"Eyes forward you two." Their Sergeant stopped the conversation.

"Jake-"

"Sergeant." The officer corrected.

"Sarge, this area was covered by teams Orion and Crimson."

"Yes, but they haven't reported back in a bit."

The Sergeant nearly stepped on Detta. The patrol was practically right on top of him. Now was the time. Detta slowly rose from his feet, flanking the man on the rear. Waiting till he turned away, Detta lunged forward, sinking the vibroblade into the soldier's neck and driving him to the ground. The other four didn't seem to notice. He crept closer towards the next one, directly behind the soldier. He wrapped his arm around his head and covered his mouth, squeezing his hand into his face as much as he could to muffle the scream. The vibroblade came up a split second later, making a quick slash to the throat. Detta sidestepped and let the body fall. His partner turned around in curiosity. Detta was faster. As soon as he turned, Detta jammed the vibroblade up the man's throat, into his head.

The squelch was almost obvious at this point. The other two turned, the Sergeant already leveling his weapon. Detta kicked the recently killed body into the officer, knocking him back. He then rushed the other one, still fumbling to flick the safety off. Detta's vibroblades sliced the barrel clean off. The soldier dropped the weapon in horror, reaching for his sidearm, but by the time he could lay a finger on it, his throat was already spewing blood.

The Sergeant was ready now. He leveled his weapon and fired. Detta faked a sidestep and twirled around the shot. He slapped the barrel away from him as fast as he could, hearing more rounds discharge as it dropped. The Sergeant reached back and pulled his sword, throwing a large overhead swing. Detta easily sidestepped around and flicked his blades at his torso. The Sergeant blocked them with ease. He whirled for another attack but Detta moved in closer. He blocked the bladed arm and slashed at his lower abdomen. The vibroblades cut through the armor like butter, blood started the pour out. Detta turned back and watched the man spill his guts, reel over and die.

This complicated things. Detta prayed there wasn't a nearby patrol to hear the cracks of gunfire. Then a loud hum filled the air. He turned quickly, grabbing a fallen dust assault rifle. As clumsy and different as they were, it was better than nothing. Then Detta smiled. His ride was here. It was an Atlesian dropship, but beside the two Atlesian pilots, Detta recognized the all too familiar armor of Seoul. The lights were out and the engines were kept on the lowest charge possible. He dropped the rifle and began to walk towards the rear entrance. Then he paused. Sio still wasn't here. He turned back and scanned the landscape. After seeing nothing, he clicked on his shortwave commlink channel.

"Sio, come in." He whispered. "Evac's here. Are you nearby?" There was no response. "Sio, talk to me, _ner vod_." Detta heard nothing but static. _Haar'chak_. He cursed. _Damn it._

He came in through the back door. As soon as both of his feet were on board, the hatch closed and the ship lifted off. Detta froze and immediately stood at attention after spotting Shash. His Commander stood and nodded, giving the signal to ease up.

"Report." He spoke emotionlessly.

"Mission success, buir," Detta replied. "But Sio is missing. He's either having trouble getting to the evac sight or he didn't make it."

"Sio knows that if he didn't show up by the time we arrived, he would be left behind." Seoul explained. "If he's alive and is having trouble getting to the evac sight, we are going to have to leave him."

"Sio's an ARC like us." Shash said. "If he's alive, he'll hunker down, wait for another extraction. For now, we're going to have to assume the worst."

Detta almost thought he heard a bit of sorrow in that statement.

"I was unaware of your early return." Detta implied a need for an explanation.

"I will explain more at base." Shash assured. "Just know that the final phase begins soon."

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Shadow stood in the elevator, waiting to get to Professor Ozpin's office. He shifted uneasily from heel to heel, thinking of what to say. He had to say something, but not give away too much. Ozpin was going to have an explanation whether Shadow liked it or not. It was his school that got attacked and his students who got injured.

Finally, the door opened and revealed Ozpin's office. Shadow took a quick look at the gears above his head powering the clock tower.

"Shadow," Ozpin's voice came out smooth. "Come in."

"Professor." Shadow politely acknowledged him with a slight bow, then strolled closer to his desk. "You wished to see me?"

"Yes, I did." Ozpin took a quick sip of his tea and motioned him to sit.

"What is this about?"

"I think you already know the answer to that question." Ozpin pointed out.

"I truly don't Professor." Shadow held his poker face, one that General Mack personally trained the SBH on Freos to keep.

"Shadow," Ozpin took a deep breath. "I want you to understand that this is my school, my burden. Understand that the students at this school, who were placed under my protection, were injured and nearly killed in an unexpected attack."

Ozpin stared at Shadow square in the eyes, almost as if he were looking into Shadow's soul. Shadow would've given almost anything right now to have his helmet on. It would've denied any good way for Ozpin to read him.

"Where do I fit into all of this?" Shadow still kept his cool.

"I want you to understand that when something happens here on my grounds," Ozpin pressed a button on his desk and a holographic photo of the body of Sio appeared, suspended in air. "I don't appreciate it when people lie."

Shadow clenched his teeth, running a counter story through his head.

"This was not a normal attack, wasn't it, Shadow?" Ozpin pressed on.

"Shash and his 21st Nova squad," Shadow started. "They were originally partnered with the criminal Roman Torchwick and the Faunus terrorist organization known as the White Fang. I can only assume this was a returned favor."

"Any you believe this is not an element of a major plot?" Ozpin revealed what he was getting at.

"No." Shadow said as flatly as he could.

Ozpin studied Shadow's face for a few moments, then said, "Very well. I will report this as a terrorist attack, something General Ironwood would personally oversee."

James Ironwood was a General in the Military of Atlas. Shadow knew that he and Ozpin were good friends. An attack on your friend's school is something you wouldn't want to show up for.

"Is there anything else?" Shadow asked, trying his best to hold back any sign of relief.

"One more thing." Ozpin answered. "I will be cancelling classes for this week to make up for the damage caused from the conflict, and give the injured students some time to recover."

"Understood."

"Shadow."

"Yes Professor?"

"If you need any form of help," Ozpin assured. "I'm right here."

"Thank you." Shadow appreciated the help, but he knew he wouldn't take it.

"Thank you for your time, Shadow." Ozpin waved him farewell. "Now rest."

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

_Pack light_. Jared told himself.

Sure, he had packed plenty on the mission that led the team to this world, but this mission was strictly recon. That meant no explosives, and minimal ammunition. If it did get that hot, then the mission would be over anyways. Jared decided four extra magazines was sufficient. On top of that, Designer had put together some sensor equipment from a few parts in his van. It wasn't exactly the most discreet type of equipment. It was practically a metal suitcase put together by wires and metal that attached to a chord with a radar dish. _For the most part_, Designer claimed, _It works_.

Jared left Tested to count how much ammunition they had. In truth, Jared already knew what they still had and what they lost, but he wanted to keep the boy busy.

The girls were preparing for bed, taking shifts for changing in the washroom. Ruby was lying on her top bunk wearing headphones, staring at the ceiling in her own world of rock music. Blake read a book in the corner, silently, as usual. Weiss was using the washroom with Yang outside still waiting her turn. She still didn't seem happy about GT in her bed. TJ was still watching the guy, keeping him company, regardless of how much he seemed like he was going to doze off.

Jared noticed Shadow walk into the room. He was immediately curious.

"So how'd it go?" Jared asked.

"Meh, I guess." Shadow shrugged.

"Meh, is not a description." Jared scolded impatiently.

"It went fine." Shadow answered. "School's out for a week to compensate for the damage done to the school, and I just told him that the attack had nothing to do with us. Although, there is a slight hitch. Ozpin is a bit suspicious about us."

"You didn't tell him the truth?" Tested questioned.

"Testie," Designer dubbed the soldier. "Shut up. The grown ups are talking."

"What do you mean by suspicious?" Jared pushed on.

"We need to lay low a bit." Shadow explained. "Nothing too big, minimal explosions, minimal up front battles in the city, anything that makes the newspaper."

"Well, at least the recon mission doesn't fall into that category."

"Yes, and now we decide on who is going." Shadow declared. "SBH only mission." Shadow paused when he looked over at the twins. "Minus GT." He finished.

GT, now sitting upright, looked at Shadow in disbelief. "What?" He asked.

"GT, you are still injured." Shadow explained.

"I feel fine." GT claimed. "No more dizziness."

"I'm sorry GT," Shadow apologized. "You aren't coming. It'll be Jared, Designer, TJ and I."

GT hung his head in shame and laid back down in disappointment.

"Shadow, permission to stay behind with GT?" TJ asked.

Shadow looked at TJ surprised. "You don't want to come?"

"I'd rather look after my brother and make sure he's safe." TJ explained. "And you know what they say, three's a party."

"You sure you want to pass up a mission TJ?" Jared asked.

"Eh," TJ waved off. "It's just recon."

"Granted TJ." Shadow acknowledged. "So the away is Jared, Designer and I."

"What do you want everyone else to do?" Tested spoke for everyone else.

"Be on the lookout for trouble." Shadow said. "We might be gone for more than three days. It's a large area of ocean to cover. Try not to stir some up, but don't shy away from dealing with it."

"Problem dealt with." Weiss said as she exited the bathroom in her attire. "But here's a question I have; where is everybody sleeping?"

There were only four beds in this room.

"I'll be going back to my room," Shadow answered. "Place is still messed up, but the bed is still comfy for the most part. Designer?"

"Nope." Designer said without looking up. He still working in the sensor equipment, jabbing his wrench into a small opening. "I'll be in my van."

"But where am I sleeping?" Weiss asked, looking over at GT.

"You can sleep in my bed, Weiss." Blake suggested.

"And where would you sleep?"

"I could stay with Shadow."

"Kinky." Designer chuckled, still not looking up from tightening a bolt.

"Designer..." Shadow sighed.

"I'm just saying, you two, alone, one room."

"Jared is probably sleeping with Yang." Shadow shot back.

"But they are still in this room, now aren't they."

Shadow tried to find a comeback, but just responded with a bashful "Shut up."

"I'll keep an eye on GT." TJ assured. Jared noticed the cup of coffee in his hand.

"I think you guys forgot one." Yang pointed out, implying Tested.

"Yang saved my sleeping bag from the wreckage," Tested explained. "I'll be on the ground."

"Settled then." Jared stated. "Designer, you good with equipment?"

"I can finish this tonight," Designer assured. "Vehicle wise, I've got it covered."

"What do you mean by that?" Jared asked curiously.

"Worry about it tomorrow." Designer replied with a smirk.

"Mhm..." Jared acknowledged skeptically.

"I guess that's all." Shadow announced. "Designer, Jared, get some sleep you two. The rest of you, that is your preference."

-Tested 3rd Person POV-

"Out!" Tested got shoved. "Get out!"

The girl they had been keeping hostage had broken out of shock as soon as they stepped into the garage.

"You people are crazy!" She scolded. "Get out!"

"Ma'am-" Tested tried to protest.

"Do you idiots not understand the concept of getting out?" She cut him off. "Get the fuck out!"

"I could stun her, sir." Vin suggested over the private comms.

"Hold fire." Tested waved him off. "Ma'am, please cooperate or I will restrain you."

"I don't care!" She shot back and jabbed her finger into her chestplate, her eyes fierce and willing to fight. "You hear me? I don't fucking care. You can fucking chain me to a fucking pole outside next to a pile of shit for all I fucking care you fucking bleach bucket twat. Just fucking leave."

Tested took a moment to comprehend what she said before responding. "Ma'am, all I ask if for a place to stay until we can move on. Considering we don't have a safer place to go, we will stay here, and will restrain you if that is what it takes."

The girl shook her head in anger and tilted her shoulder back. Tested knew that sign all too well, grabbing her wrist just as the right cross was thrown.

"Ma'am." Tested tried one more time.

She reeled her right arm back and shoved Tested back a step. Once again, she stepped into a right cross. Tested sidestepped to the left, avoiding the blow. As she reeled for a left punch, Tested stepped inside the arc and locked his arm against her shoulder. He pulled her forwards, getting her off balance, then grabbed her other arm, pulling both of them to her rear. He lifted her up, feeling her squirm and resist, and brought her to the exposed pole still holding the cuffs they had attached. Vin came over and cuffed her in as Tested restrained her.

"Do we understand each other now?" He asked.

"Fuck you!" She cussed back, trying to pull the cuffs off.

"Can I stun her now?" Vin sighed, seeing the girl still cussing and attempting to escape.

"No." Tested replied.

"C'mon Tested." Whix whined in the background. "Man in pain trying to get some sleep so he doesn't feel it. Just drop her."

Vin shrugged, gesturing it to be no problem. But Tested didn't want to deal with this every single time she awoke.

_I can't believe I'm going to do this_. Tested thought to himself.

Tested reeled back and launched the palm of his hand in a waving motion as hard as he could, slapping her right across the face with a resounding wet and plastic pop. The girl shrieked and whimpered from the pain, but Tested wasn't done. He grabbed her by the jaw and brought her to eye level.

"Shut the hell up!" He boomed. "About three days ago I was sent to retrieve two squads of men from my military when they went missing! A day later we were transported to this sick, dangerous, and hostile world, a world that took half of my team and leaving one critically injured in one fricking day! Now I've just confirmed that one of the groups of men that I have been sent to retrieve has gone rogue and are going to hunt down and kill us, which they are completely capable of doing so! I don't fricking care about what you think about us. I don't fricking care that you want us to leave! I am not going to lose my entire team because someone isn't generous enough to let four men, one of them injured, stay overnight!" Tested inhaled, realizing he was out of breath. "So, I am not in the mood for your crap. Shut the frick up, and deal with it!"

Tested saw the tears running down her face, eyes frozen with fear, lips trembling into a cry. He released his grip and let her head slip away to lean against the wall and cry silently, as a child would after a parent's disapproval. He got up and turned back to his men, seeing all of them staring at him in shock, Whix's unhelmeted face giving away the expression. Tested took a deep breath to cool off.

"Wish granted, Whix." Tested muttered as he walked past him.

"Gee... thanks..." Whix replied skeptically.

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Shadow laid in his bed in shorts, staring up at the ceiling with Blake on his shoulder and his arm around her, feeling down her back. She was wearing a tank top and panties with her right arm over his chest. Shadow was in the midst of passing out. The day had taken a toll on him. Wrong. The day had taken the toll on all of them. GT, Jared and Blake nearly died today, in an assault meant to be a distraction. A distraction. Shadow feared the main event. The only good thing that had come out of this day was the death of another Nova. Shash's lethal sharpshooter was dead. Now it is only three, well three and an army, plus the resourceful and cunning Roman Torchwick. But Shash had a plan. Shadow knew that for a fact. Whatever it was, it was most likely taking place on open ocean, and Shadow was going to find out what it is.

"Shadow?" Blake's voice brought him into the present. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he replied. "I'm fine."

"You are a lot quieter than normal."

"I just have a lot of things on my mind."

"You are worried."

Shadow paused for a few moments, then nodded. "Shash has had a long time to plan this and all we have is a place to begin."

"Yes, but along with several strategic victories." Blake pointed out. "Six of his men are dead."

"Strategic victories along with losses." Shadow sighed. "Like Titus." Shadow bit his lip when he said the name. Another who had died under his command.

"It wasn't your fault." Blake insisted.

"The blame of every death of a soldier under my command falls on me." Shadow sunk that fact in.

"But how you choose to deal with is your problem." Blake stated.

"I'm not going to go die in a hole if that is what you are trying to stop," Shadow chuckled. "Well, hopefully not. I've never done trench warfare before."

"Just," Blake ran her hand up to his cheek. "Focus on something else."

"Shash could be planning an attack on this room at any moment now." Shadow pointed out. "Machine got in here no problem. Let's not forget Shash and Sio."

"There are about a hundred troops watching over us right now."

"The Atlesian Military isn't exactly as good at the Grand Army of the Republic. My entire team of SBH could probably sneak past all of them. If we can, the Nova can as well."

"Do you really have little faith in this world?" Blake frowned.

"Soldiers heavily trained from birth to fight and only fight is a lot better than volunteered adults." Shadow explained. "Look at Tested. He's considered a grunt by our standards and has dropped quite a few bodies with ease."

"Tested would be considered a grunt by your standards?" Blake implied him to change his statement.

"Well," Shadow rethought. "Better than the standard grunt. He's better than most infantrymen I've seen, and he has shown a desirable amount of courage."

"He still doesn't exactly know how he survived the bomb." Blake sighed.

"You can explain semblance to him while I'm gone." Shadow suggested.

"You think he's good enough for SBH?" Blake pondered.

"Not really." Shadow answered. "He's good, but not that good. While I admire the courage and skill he has shown in these past days with him, I would issue a promotion rather than an invitation to the Shadow Black Hole division."

"Mmm." Blake kind of nodded off.

They were silent for a few moments.

"You want to know what would help me focus?" Shadow smirked lightly.

Blake didn't let him answer. She just leaned into Shadow's face, outcoming into a long passionate kiss. Shadow started the caress and feel down her body as she leaned in more and more. As Blake went to remove her top, Shadow turned out the light.

-Frogy here. Thanks for sticking with us even though uploads are not daily. Anyway 26 is being worked on so leave a review or comment if you want to. We are always taking feedback. Anyways have a good day. –Shadow out-


	26. Chapter 26

-Tested 3rd Person POV-

"Sarge," Don shook Tested. "You're up."

The group, with the exception of Whix, was working in sleep shifts at four hour intervals. They needed to make sure they weren't caught off guard, or let the prisoner escape, not that Tested thought she would try to escape considering the yelling he did, but it never hurt to be careful.

"Alright." Tested shook off the drowsiness. "Get some rest."

"Hey," Don placed his hand on Tested's shoulder and nodded at the girl. "Apologize. She may look like she is asleep, but I caught her a few times trying to scan the room."

Tested looked at Don skeptically. Even with his helmet on, Don didn't need to see his face to know what Tested's facial expression was.

"Hey," he said. "If we are going to stay here for a bit longer, we have two options. Make her a friend, or put her down. Personally, making her a friend is less messy."

Tested thought for a few moments, then nodded. He was a bit in heat earlier and really may have traumatized her. The voice of Jango wasn't exactly sweet when it was yelling at you. It was the least he could do.

"Get some rest." Tested patted Don's shoulder and made his way over to the girl.

He quietly made his way over to the wooden chair that had been left for the post. As soon as he sat down, he saw the prisoner flinch. He leaned his DP23 shotgun against the back of his chair. He wouldn't need it, but just in case, he checked his DC-17B sidearm, making sure the safety was off and set to stun. Tested removed his helmet and placed it on the ground. He took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry." He started. "I'm sorry for lashing out earlier, but everything I said before was true. There were four more of us, and one of the groups we were sent to rescue has gone rogue. They outmatch us in skill and strength." Tested wasn't really good at socializing. He wasn't Whix, but he tried his best. "I'm just trying to keep my boys alive."

The girl didn't seem to respond, but it was pretty obvious she wasn't asleep.

"What is your name?" Tested asked.

The girl didn't respond.

"Look, I just don't want to have a bad relationship with the first person I meet on this planet." Tested explained. "What is your name?"

There was no reply. Tested didn't bother trying again. He couldn't force her to talk by conventional means. Interrogation was out of the picture as well. He had done enough damage already. Tested leaned back into his chair and reached into his pack next to Whix's table, pulling out the datapad of his old comrade Cal.

"Laura." A light and frightened voice crept. Tested froze and looked back to make sure he heard correctly. "My name is Laura."

"That's a nice name." Tested smiled. "My name is Tested."

Laura turned to him, her dark eyes showing confusion. "Your name is _Tested_?"

"Yes. That is my name." Tested nodded.

"Tested as in; _I you need to be tested to pass your grade_?"

"Yes." Tested answered. "Is there something wrong with my name?"

"No," Laura blushed, thinking of an answer. "It's just... it's unusual."

"Well," Tested motioned to his men. "You may notice we share the same face. So the name we choose is something that defines us, makes us special."

"You called someone _Whix_?" Laura asked.

"The one on the table." Tested pointed. "The one who stayed with him is Don, our medic. The other is Vin."

"You aren't from around here, are you?" Laura speculated.

"Nope..." Tested sighed. "I don't know where I am right now, or how to get home." Tested took a few moments to think about the past few days. How was he going to get home? _One thing at a time_. He told himself. "So, _Laura_." Tested pushed on. "Nice name. How did you choose it?"

"My mother chose it." Laura answered. "It's not like I had a choice. I was just a baby."

"I got my name when I was in training." Tested recalled. "I was about seven."

"You were training for the army since you were seven?"

"Way before that." Tested nodded. "How old are you Laura?"

"Twenty one," she answered. "Hitting twenty two next month. How old are you? Training for the military when you were seven up to now leaves a lot of time."

"I've trained for the military since I was capable of walking." Tested corrected. "This leaves me now at eleven years old."

"Eleven?-" Laura said in confusion right before the lights went out. "What?" Laura said aloud in confusion.

"Is this place prone to power outages?" Tested asked warily.

"No," Laura answered. "No construction happening."

Tested slipped on his helmet and felt for his DP23. He found his belt and unhooked his floodlight attachment, clipping it to his shotgun.

"Everyone up," Tested shouted in a whisper. "Now!"

Don, Vin and Whix came up in bolts of lightning, reflexively feeling for their weapons. Tested pointed two fingers to himself, then to his eyes, then to the door. Then he pointed at Vin, then made a line leading to the door. Vin took the sign and leveled his weapon at the front door. Tested eased up slowly to the side of it, peeking through the hole to scan the exterior. He then patted his leg, pointed at Whix, then patted his back, signifying them to pack up.

"What is happening?" Laura asked. "I can't see."

"Laura," Tested whispered. "Do you have any safe places to hide other than here?"

"Why?"

"If that is a power outage," Tested explained. "Why are the street lamps still functioning?"

"It's them." Vin answered.

Tested nodded. "We have to move, now. Laura," Tested stopped when he got to her. "Can I trust you?"

"With?"

"Not running away."

Tested looked into her eyes of uncertainty.

"Yes." She predictably answered. She didn't really have a choice.

"Whix," Tested called to him as Don set him down in the rear of the white van. "Suggestions to shake off the enemy?"

"Concussion." Whix answered almost immediately with a hint of excitement in his voice. "Too much collateral damage for a Thermal. Concussion grenades are in my pack."

"Alright." Tested acknowledged as he pulled the sphere from Whix's pack. "Everyone, get in the van. Laura, take us somewhere safe."

"Someone open the garage." Laura said as the engine turned over.

Blur bolts tore through the doorknob of the front door.

"Gun it!" Tested yelled and he tossed the grenade.

"The door!"

"Gun it!"

Tested braced himself and shut the door just in time as she floored the pedal. A large crash resounded throughout the body of the van as it slammed through the garage door. The van made a sharp turn, throwing Tested to the other side, then thrusted forward.

"Are we being followed?" Tested asked.

"No," Vin answered as he stared at the rear view mirror. "Grenade caught them off guard."

"Good call Whix." Tested patted his shoulder.

"Disabled, but not useless." Whix joked.

"Laura, please take us somewhere safe."

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Shadow walked into team RWBY's dorm, seeing almost everyone moving. GT was sitting on Weiss's bed while TJ was fast asleep in his chair. Tested was on his sleeping bag polishing his armor while team RWBY was lolly gagging around. The sight of Jared tossing Shadow a duffle nearly caught him off guard, but he still didn't drop it. He looked at Jared in disappointment.

"Ammunition and Designer's spying equipment." Jared explained with a wink.

Shadow sighed and slowly lowered the bag to the ground. "Where is Designer?" He asked.

"He's been in his van all night ever since Yang, Weiss and Ruby yelled at him to leave." Jared chuckled. "He started using a screw gun."

"Is he rested?" Shadow asked skeptically.

"Sleep is for the weak!" Designer said as he came through the door and slapped Shadow on the back. "Besides, I had, like, ten cans of something called kickstart, maybe more. I lost count at seven though."

Designer started talking in rapid fire bursts. Shadow almost couldn't keep up with the conversation.

"Are you good?" Shadow cut him off.

Designer took a full second to respond, then peppered the air with words. "Of course I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be fine? I'm always fine. You know I sat alone in this place for more than a month. I know what I'm doing. I can take care of myself-"

"Okay Des-"

"-Wait, WAIT! Wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-wait." Designer stopped him. "I finished the sensor equipment last night. It has a five hundred meter radius, or five, I don't know, I wasn't paying too much attention. I was keeping my eyelids open at the same time, but it's done, nothing to worry about-"

Shadow brought his arm wide and swung his palm at Designer's face. Designer caught his arm as if everything was moving too slow for him. He looked at Shadow's hand, then back at him.

"What are you doing? Are you trying to hit me? You swing too slow, or am I just movin fast? I don't know, close enough-"

"Designer, shut up." Shadow pleaded.

"Shut up? That's rude. Even for me. That's rude. You should tre-"

"Shut up!" Everyone screamed at him in unison.

Designer raised his hands in surrender, then leaned closer to Shadow.

"I'll be in my van." He whispered.

Shadow turned to Jared.

"You ready?" He asked.

"As much as I will be." Jared remarked as he slapped an ammunition magazine into his DC-17M and clipped it to the back of his belt. "You?"

"Mhm," Shadow nodded, then turned to the rest of the group. "GT, get some rest. I want you combat ready by the time we enter the next battle."

"Will do." GT balanced the tip of his newly acquired beskar knife on his armored knuckle plate.

"Any tasks required of the rest of us?" Tested asked, standing at attention.

"Recovery." Shadow explained. "Relax a bit, but remain on guard. Go around the city if you wish Tested, just take one of the girls with you so you don't get lost."

"He has a map." Weiss pointed out.

"Yes, but I'd rather keep him out of trouble."

"He can roll with us!" Yang giggled.

"... Right..." Tested sighed disappointedly.

"How long will you be?" Blake placed her hand on Shadow's shoulder.

"Designer tells me a little more than a full day," Shadow explained. "Three at most. If we aren't back by then, alert the Atlesian Military." Then Shadow figured out what Blake was thinking. "You aren't coming. Don't you dare follow."

"You want me to watch her?" Tested piped in.

"Just vice versa." Shadow answered. "Jared, let's go."

Jared went up and gave Yang a quick kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck while Jared placed his around her waist. "Don't have too much fun without me." Jared nudged her lightly.

"No promises." Yang teased.

Jared gave her a peck on the cheek and then grabbed his helmet. He spun it around on his finger before nodding at Shadow and putting it on.

"Won't be gone that long." Shadow assured Blake and kissed her on the forehead. "This is what I've done for a long time."

Blake looked uneasy and nodded.

"Till we meet again, all of you."

-Shash 3rd Person POV-

Shash was sitting at the computers, watching and listening to the communications flowing in and out of Vale. He had heard nothing from Sio. Atlesian patrols had finished covering the entire area and were just doing a few extra checks to make sure everything was alright.

Then Shash remembered something. Sio had planted a virus into the Headmaster Ozpin's computer, It worked, but the remainder of the virus would stay dormant in Ozpin's computer. Dormant, until Shash turned it on.

Shash keyed through all the useless files of student marks and made his way to the personal files. What he found made him boil in his seat. The Atlesian Military had taken a photo of Sio's body. The Headmaster must've kept it for a conversation with Shadow. Any Headmaster of a school would be angry that an attack occurred on their grounds, especially when there is proof that one of the students may have influenced it.

Shash took a deep sigh to calm himself down, then he rolled back in his chair and stood up. He made his way over to Seoul and Detta. Detta was trying to treat Seoul's wounds. She was the tough and stubborn type. She was willing to leave it.

"Seoul, you have second degree burns on your arm." Detta warned. "Let me treat it!"

"I'm fine!" She snapped back. "I'm going to replace the armor plate."

"Vod, if I don't treat it, it's going to get worse."

"Not my first burn, Detta."

"Enough!" Shash barked. Seoul and Detta snapped to attention immediately, Seoul being a fraction slower as she winced when she brought her right arm to her side. Shash strolled over to them. "Seoul, show me."

She hesitated, then raised her unarmored forearm to him. Shash noticed she was clenching her teeth, a distinguishable tactic to withstand pain. The forearm was bright red, nearly bleeding. It looked like someone had torn the top part of her skin off.

"I'm fine, sir." She assured.

"No you aren't. " Shash shook his head as he examined the burn. It was a second degree burn, like Detta had said.

Shash held his other hand out with his palm facing up. Detta placed the bottle in it. Shash sprayed the bacta onto the burn, then motioned to Detta to place a bacta patch over it.

"If you experience undesired pain." Shash explained as he gave her a syringe with extra bacta.

"Thank you, sir." Seoul nodded skeptically and reached to place the syringe on her belt.

"Seoul." Shash placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Yes Commander?"

"You don't have to prove how tough you are," Shash said reassuringly. "You are already a part of this team. There is no need to hide the pain that a lot of us wouldn't bear." Shash stared straight into her eyes. "Understood?"

Seoul swallowed and looked down. After a few moments, she nodded and said, "Yes sir." Then she jabbed the syringe into her forearm, just above the burn, squeezing the contents into her bloodstream.

Shash stepped back as Detta was about to talk.

"What now _buir_?" He asked.

"Rest." Shash answered. "Everything is going as planned. I will explain everything after both of you have gotten a good eight hour rest."

Seoul and Detta exchanged glances. 

"Rest and recover," Shash explained. "Then you can put your energy back into the fight."

-Tested 3rd Person POV-

"Are you sure this place is secure?" Tested had his finger over the trigger of his DP23.

"It's a building my parents just bought." Laura explained. "Still hasn't been renovated yet."

"Tell Don to leave Whix in the van." Tested motioned to Vin.

"Copy." Vin nodded and went off to do his task.

It was a one story building. Too small to be a large business. Large enough to be a personal office. Laura was right about the place needing to be renovated. The white plaster walls were torn up and the floor was concrete cement. Vin re entered the room.

"Don's gonna stay with him." Vin reported.

"Alright." Tested sighed and slung his DP23. He looked over at Laura, who was uncomfortably sitting in the corner. Tested walked up to her. "Are you hungry?"

"I'm fine." She replied.

"You haven't eaten since yesterday." Tested explained. He opened one of his belt compartments and offered her a military ration bar. "You've got to keep your strength."

"Will you let me go?" She looked up at him, her eyes staring deep into his visor.

Tested clenched his jaw, not knowing how to respond. He has shown a bit of friendliness to her, but she was still a prisoner. Without answering, he gave her the ration bar. She took it slowly and took a small first bite. She made a weird face of disgust.

"It's awful." She swallowed.

"It's tasteless." Tested explained.

"Yes," she sighed. "Things that are tasteless are awful."

"It will restore your strength and fill you up." Tested stated.

Laura grumbled as she continued to nibble at it. Tested walked over to Vin, who was also eating a ration bar.

"You okay?" Tested asked.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Vin shrugged.

"It's been a rough couple of days."

"No worse than that time on Umbara or as heated as the fight on that ringlike space station on Ringo Vinda." Vin assured. "I'm fine."

"Good." Tested nodded.

"Sir?"

"Yes?"

"Permission to speak freely?"

"Go ahead."

"Do you... Nevermind." Vin didn't bother finishing his question.

"What is it?"

"Nothing." Vin waved him off. "Stupid question anyway."

"What is it?" Tested repeated.

"Are you..." Vin nodded towards Laura.

Tested didn't need him to say it.

"Yeah... stupid question." Vin shrugged after hearing no reply from Tested. "So what do we do with her?"

"What do you mean?"

"We can't keep carrying her around. She's dead weight. A liability."

"We know nothing of this world Vin." Tested brought up. "We can't just go around on our own."

"Look," Vin argued. "She can be useful, but we are facing soldiers that are far better than us. If we keep carrying her around, we might not survive." Vin paused before adding, "Or she might not survive."

Tested pondered Vin's words. He shouldn't really care about to life of a prisoner, but he felt a slight emotional attachment. She was a civilian, but not a civilian he was trained to protect. While his point stood out about needing a guide to survive here, Vin was right. Forget the numbers, the Nova ARCs outmatched them easily. Even one of them would be a challenge to take down.

"Troops of the 501st." A familiar British tone emerged from their private commlink system. "I see you are uncooperative."

Tested keyed his mic off from the commlink and made a swiping motion on his mouth area to Vin, telling him not to use the commlink. Vin nodded and circled his hands around, then shrugged, asking _what about the others_? Tested pointed at the door leading outside. Vin nodded and approached slowly to look at the van. Tested moved closer to Laura, unslinging his DP23. Laura looked up at him in fear.

"We've got to go." Tested explained after removing his helmet.

"What?" Laura asked confused.

"They found us. We have to get out of here."

A shot rang high, going right past Tested. Tested whirled and leveled his DP23, only to see the shots coming through the plaster wall. Tested blanketed the wall with blaster fire, wrenching Laura up as he did it. As soon as he had her, Vin started firing. He was standing next to the door covering their escape.

"Fire in the hole!" He cried as he chuckled a thermal detonator.

Tested didn't bother to turn back until he swung the van's rear door wide open. His entrance was met with a frightened Don and a combat ready Whix with his rifle leveled at his hip.

"Check fire." Tested warned, waving Whix off.

"What was that?" Don asked, referring to the blast.

"Laura, driver seat!" Tested barked.

Laura was already climbing into the seat. Tested turned to see the large, gaping hole in the wall created by the blast. The Nova were already attempting to push forward.

"Drive!" Tested yelled.

-Yang 3rd Person POV-

"You haven't spent a lot of time here, haven't you?" Yang asked Tested.

The soldier was still in a phase, not paying attention. Team RWBY had taken him out to get to know the city more, so the Cross Continental Transmit tower was a great place to start. Tested was also starting to act more casual, but he was still so disciplined. Yang was surprised that they actually managed to get him to wear civilian clothes. He wore dark blue jeans, white shirt with blue stripes, and a black light jacket along with runners. Regardless, he still carried his pistol and vibroblade in makeshift holsters under his jacket. It kinda reminded Yang of a cop. It was kinda funny escorting him around. He was an eleven year old with the body of a grown man in his early twenties. A man in his early twenties hanging around with a bunch of teenage girls usually gave two suggestions; He is their parental guardian, or he was a pedophile. He didn't look like one though. With his posture and the way he moved with absolute respect, it was almost like he was a robot.

"Tested?" Yang asked again.

"Hmm? Oh, no." Tested shook off the distraction. "I haven't even really been on this planet that long."

"Well loosen up a bit," Yang nudged him. "You're always so tense."

"Mm, sorry." He took a deep breath. "So what is this place?"

"This is the Cross Continental Transmit tower," Weiss explained. "Otherwise known as the CCT. It was built by the kingdom of Atlas after the great war as a gift to the world, allowing all four Kingdoms of Remnant to communicate with each other."

"Thought I saw one of these in Atlas." Tested recalled. "Maybe not. I was on the run for pretty much the whole time I was there."

"Shame you didn't get to check out the most technologically advanced kingdom." Weiss commented.

"Vale isn't that bad Weiss." Ruby nudged her.

"So what was the Great War?" Tested asked with interest.

"Oh, so the first interesting thing that comes to you on this world happens to be war?"

"In my defence, I can relate to it." Tested shot back. "Literally."

"You are so belligerent." Weiss scoffed.

"It's what I was born to be." Tested acknowledged. "So what was it?"

Weiss sighed and began the story. "It was a war that involved all the Kingdoms of Remnant, and was a fought for a long period of time. It was the largest war in history, hence the name, and was fought over many reasons such as equality and individualism. The war ended with neither side losing, but all four Kingdoms coming together and choosing peace over violence on the island of Vital, leading to a holiday called the Vital festival."

"What's the Vital festival?" Tested pushed on.

"That's a story for another time." Yang stopped him. "Here we are."

The group had just turned a corner and now had a complete view of the CCT tower. It was a massive cylindrical building supported by four pillars evenly spaced apart. It was the base of the Beacon Academy tower, leading straight up to Ozpin's office.

"Wow," Tested scanned the tower. "That is just amazing, but I've seen bigger where I'm from."

"You should see the one in Atlas." Weiss brought up.

"Eh," Tested shrugged. "You haven't seen nothing until you see the Jedi temple or the Senate building on Coruscant."

"Cora- what?" Ruby asked.

"Capital city of the Republic I fight for." Tested explained. "Shadow may have told you about it?"

"He mentioned it once or twice." Blake nodded. "He also mentioned that there is still conflict."

"Mhm," Tested grieved. "The main war is over. We are just mopping up the remains of our opponents."

"So you occupied what rank?" Weiss asked.

"Sergeant, the first rank of command." Tested stated. "I hold the rank of Sergeant in a legion of thirteen thousand troopers known as the 501st. Within that legion, I am part of their elite Torrent Company."

"So does that make you the best?" Yang asked.

"Makes me above average." Tested corrected. "The best troopers in the Grand Army of the Republic are the Advanced Reconnaissance Commandos, otherwise known as the ARC troopers. If you've seen service records, you'd know that some of them are better than Shadow."

"Wait," Ruby stopped him. "If there are thirteen thousand soldiers in a legion, how many legions are there?"

"The Republic doesn't need more than an eighth of their forces to conquer Remnant." Tested replied. "Does that give you an idea?"

"Wow." Ruby looked as if her mind exploded.

"So you said you are all clones," Blake pushed on. "What's it like having an army where everyone is completely identical?"

"Truth be told," Tested sighed. "It doesn't matter that everyone looks like you. Everyone is different. We all carry different attributes that make us special. Notice the difference between how Shadow acts paralleled to Jared."

"Yeah," Yang chuckled. "Jared's more fun." Blake seemed to ignore the comment.

"Anyways, I'd like to see the city." Tested said.

"Sure," Yang replied. "We'll catch the next airship out there. C'mon."

-GT 3rd Person POV-

GT felt good. Unusually good. His wounds were still healing but he felt none of it. It may have been the effect of the bacta, but GT didn't recall the pain killing aspect being this strong. He looked over at his sleeping brother. TJ was knocked out. GT reckoned that he had stayed up nearly all night. He got up and slowly began to remove the bandages. The wounds were completely healed. This could've been his aura, but with the injuries he sustained, he shouldn't have been capable of being out of bed this early.

GT walked over to his pack. He picked up his helmet and inspected it. There didn't appear to be any damage, but he couldn't say the same for his chestplate. The beskar knife had left thick gashes all over the armor. He frowned and set it aside. He looked through his gear, checking for any damaged equipment. Other whan his chestplate, everything seemed fine. He picked up his chestplate and brought it to the bed he slept in.

"Now what am I going to do about this?" GT asked aloud. "What do you think TJ?"

TJ replied with repetitive snoring.

"That's what I thought." GT sighed. "Gotta get a new one."

GT placed his hand on a crack and ran his finger down it. He thought in his mind about mending it together. He shook his head and chuckled at the thought. Just as he was about to put the chestplate away, he noticed something odd happened. He froze and looked where his hand was a few seconds ago. The hole in the armor was gone.

_What the hell?_ He wondered.

GT tried the same thing again on another gash, running his finger over it, focusing with his mind as if he were mending the plastoid together piece by piece. To his surprise, the armor was repaired.

_Interesting..._

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

Jared felt for his side arm immediately after feeling the nudge to his side.

"We're here." Designer's voice seeped in through his ears as Jared shook himself awake. He had dozed off on the ride.

"Where's your aircraft?" Shadow asked, sitting in the back of the van.

"Follow me." Designer replied. "Stay low. Grab my stuff you two."

"You can't carry your own junk?"

"Gear." Designer corrected. "I'll need my hands free for hacking."

"Hacking?" Jared mumbled.

"Designer-" Shadow began to ask for an explanation.

"Just follow me."

Jared grabbed Designer's sensor equipment, carrying it with his left arm. He stepped outside and realized where they were and what they were doing.

"Designer..." Jared sighed.

"Get over here!" Designer ushered him to the door to a large hangar.

Designer's hands were already dancing over the keypad. Moments later, the lock clicked open. The door slid away, revealing two Atlesian Military soldiers about to exit the building. Designer's side arm went up in a flash, releasing two stun rounds. The soldiers dropped, not knowing what hit them.

"Security patrol recycles in a minute." He explained as he motioned them inside. "Let's get our ride."

The hangar was really bright. The intense ceiling lights gave no shadows at all. Fortunately, there were crates. Jared and Shadow moved as quick as they could to one stack close to the entrance. Shadow slung the duffel and tightened it to reduce any sound. Jared peered over to look for Designer. Predictably, he was cloaked and most likely heading towards one of the Atlesian dropships. Jared scanned the room. There were four landing pads, all with a dropship. Each one had androids offloading supplies. They must have been delivering from a command airship high in the sky. There were a trio of other soldiers in a small command post a few meters above the entrance.

"You guys good over there?" Designer's voice came up on the short wave commlink.

"Peachy." Jared replied.

"We could've taken one from the school." Shadow suggested.

"Yes but you are the one that said the Headmaster is suspicious of us." Designer pointed out.

"Fair enough." Shadow agreed. "Where are you?"

"Alright," Designer made a sound as if he were cracking his knuckles. "What if I told you guys that I could do this?"

Nothing seemed to happen in the hangar, except for the androids. The froze midway in their actions. Jared risked peering up at the command post, seeing the soldiers in confusion.

"And welcome to the shadows." Designer teased as the lights went out.

"Show off." Jared shook his head as his flicked on his night vision filter.

"Shadow, follow the beacon I send to your HUD." Designer instructed. "Jared, just follow him."

Jared followed Shadow as they made their way to Designer. He was already inside one of the dropships, shoving out one of the frozen androids.

"I'll get the door." Designer explained. "Jared, get this thing ready to go."

"You can still fly, right?" Shadow nudged him.

"What, you think I'm rusty?" Jared asked.

Shadow shrugged.

"I see how it is." Jared sighed as he stowed Designer's sensor equipment near the cockpit.

Jared hadn't flown these ships before, but it seemed pretty straight forward. He almost flipped the engines on thoughtlessly. He angled them downwards and the dropship elevated. Then the hangar bay door slid open, revealing the midday sun. Designer disengaged his cloak right beside Jared and nodded at him. Jared closed the rear door and angled the engines back. Then he gunned the accelerator.

-GT 3rd Person POV-

GT was just reading a book when he heard TJ wake up startled.

"GT!" He exclaimed.

"I'm here." GT just said casually.

TJ's eyes darted from left to right over the bed, then moved over to the desk GT sat at. GT just waved.

"What are you doing?" TJ asked.

"I'm totally not reading a book." GT replied sarcastically.

"You're supposed to be in bed."

"I'm fine."

"You just had a concussion."

"No, I'm not even joking TJ," GT assured as he lifted his shirt to reveal the disappeared wounds. "I'm actually fine."

TJ squinted at his chest and even came closer to verify what he saw. He saw nothing.

"How did you?..." He started.

"Watch this." GT said as he ripped half of a page out of the book he was reading.

"Uhh… that book belongs to Blake…" TJ said nervously.

"Watch." GT stated.

He put the page back where it was originally meant to be and did the same thing he did with his armor, focusing on feeling the fibers in the paper, and weaving them back together. The result was as predicted. TJ grabbed the book from GT and inspected the page, giving it a tug to see if what happened was true.

"Now that," TJ chuckled. "Is something. What else can you do?"

"I don't exactly know." GT pondered. "I think I can… repair."

"What do you mean by repair?"

"Repair in general." GT answered. "It might be in contrast to how you can destroy things beyond repair, I guess I can repair things."

"That sounds a bit lame." TJ commented. "What are the limits to what you can do? Better yet, how much can you do?"

"You want to go find out?" GT asked.

"Well," TJ said. "We do still have stuff in our old room that could use fixing."

"I'm not going to rebuild our entire room." GT sighed. "Goodwitch said she was going fix everything. She just has to finish the western buildings and work her way over here."

"Meh," TJ shrugged. "Yang and Jared left behind any equipment that couldn't be salvaged. Maybe you can salvage it."

GT thought about this for a few moments. It's not like he had anything better to do.

"Sure," He replied. "Why the hell not? Let's go."

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

"How big is your search quadrant, Des?" Shadow asked.

"Pretty big." Designer's hands moved around the keys on his laptop with absolute precision.

"You need to be more descriptive." Shadow frowned.

"Hey, I said I could get you pretty close," Designer defended without looking up from his task. "And last time I checked, you didn't have shit."

Shadow rolled his eyes sighed, knowing he couldn't argue with that statement.

"Yeah, that's what I thought, quit complaining. You also might want to get a bit comfortable." Designer took his laptop and went up to the cockpit, plugging it into the dropship's computer systems. "Got the course plotted Jay," he nudged Jared. "Just follow the line and search pattern that shows up on the navigation computer."

"Why don't you just change my diaper while you're at it?" Jared joked.

"Don't tempt me, I'm sure I could do it better than that imaginary friend you call confidence." Designer shot back.

"Asshole." Shadow heard Jared chuckle under his breath.

Designer removed his helmet as he walked past Shadow.

"Wasn't joking about getting comfortable." He stated. "It's going to be a long ride."

"Mmm." Shadow slid his hood back and took a seat in the cargo bay. Designer took a seat with his gear right across from him.

"So how's the hood holding up?" Designer asked as he pulled out a datapad.

"It's tough and the HUD is great," Shadow complemented. "But a few physical aspects are becoming trouble."

"Elaborate."

"For one, my face is open, but I can live with that," Shadow shrugged. "But protection over the eyes, ears, nose and mouth are the big problems."

"Examples?" Designer smirked, looking as if he already knew these flaws.

"Eyes burn in clouds of dust, no ear protection or sound mufflers from shock waves or blaster fire, I practically breath and taste ash in fire, and nothing to protect me from stuff floating around in the air."

Designer laughed and pointed at Shadow. Shadow was unamused.

"Look Shadow," Designer giggled. "There's a reason the Grand Army of the Republic were issued helmets."

"I still really like the hood-"

"But it's a large tactical disadvantage in the correct situations." Designer pointed out. "If you want to keep the hood, there's only so much you can do to keep yourself from falling into the wrong situation. If I had it my way, I would've just modified your old helmet."

"I'll keep the hood Designer." Shadow stated firmly.

Designer sighed and rolled his eyes and Shadow could have sworn he heard Jared snicker in the cockpit. "Suit yourself."

-Tested 3rd Person POV-

"Where are you taking us?" Don asked.

In the rear of the van, Tested was hunkered near the driver seat while Vin was right up against the door. Whix just lay flat on his back with a pillow supporting his neck. Tested still had the adrenaline from the fight pumping through him. It was only now that Don made him realize he should've asked of their destination.

"The last place I know." Laura bit her lip in that statement.

"Which is?" Tested added.

"My grandparent's house."

"How much further?"

"Just a minute or two."

"Good." Tested took a deep breath. "That's your stop."

"Wait, what?" Vin looked up.

"We're cutting you loose Laura." Tested restated.

Vin's voice came up on a private channel. "We are letting her go?"

"Affirmative." Tested replied. "We've done enough damage already."

"Respectfully sir, she can still cause damage to us."

"You are the one who said she was dead weight, Vin."

Vin didn't reply to that statement.

"We're here." Laura announced.

"Laura," Tested called. She turned to face him. "We held you hostage, made you help us against your will, and caused damage to two of your properties." Tested paused. "And now we're going to take your van. Don't report us. Any report and the people after us will kill you."

Laura nodded. "What else can you take from me?" She muttered under her breath.

Laura opened the door and stepped outside. Just as she was about to make her way to her grandparent's house, she turned and asked, "What happens to you guys?"

Tested climbed into the driver's seat.

"Not your concern." He answered and drove away.

For a few moments after they got onto the main road, the van was quiet.

"Tested," Whix asked. "We aren't going to survive this."

"We have to try," Tested replied. "We have to. There is only one way we make it through this."

"We find the Shadow Troopers." Don stated.

"So," Vin sighed and sat upright. "Where do we begin?"

-Blake 3rd Person POV-

"So?" Yang asked Tested.

"Hmm?"

"What you think?"

"Of?"

"The food."

Yang was urging Tested to try out new foods, aside from his ration bars and heavily restricted diet.

"Oh," Tested looked down at his noodles. "High in cholesterol."

Yang let out a huge sigh. "You suck the fun out of everything."

Tested looked confused.

"How is it that you haven't tried any of the food here, and still somehow know about cholesterol?"

Tested just shrugged. "I like the city though." He commented. "It's different from most cities I've seen."

"How so?" Blake asked.

"First off all, you don't see brick that often where I'm from." Tested seemed to glance up. "But that mentality seems familiar."

As they neared the town square, a massive Atlesian Military Airship passed above. Blake could hear the rumbling and reassuring engine noise with her superior Faunus hearing.

"We normally don't experience that type of military activity." Weiss corrected. "They are most likely on guard, considering the events in the past weeks."

"Can't really blame them." Blake shrugged.

"But they are really cool to watch!" Ruby stared in awe.

"What type of armaments is it carrying?" Tested asked.

"No idea." Yang shrugged. "They seem mostly for transport."

"Transport for them I assume?" Tested shifted uneasily. Blake noticed his gaze focused on a pair of Atlesian Androids.

"Well, Atlas has been trying their best to remove humans from the dangers of the battlefield." Weiss explained. "We don't have the luxury of cloning an army."

"At least you have those humans." Tested stated as he saw the androids report to a soldier.

"You know," Ruby commented. "I think the androids kinda look like you. In armor I mean."

"Is something wrong?" Blake asked.

"Has Shadow not told you about the CIS? Otherwise known as the Separatists?"

The four of them looked a bit confused.

"Well," Tested began. "Their main military force consisted of droids,.numbering in higher than that of the Grand Army of the Republic. They can be a bit incompetent sometimes, but when they come in a force and you are not prepared for it, attrition wins."

"You guys had ships as well?" Ruby asked.

"Ships capable of intergalactic travel." Tested explained. "We could actually go to space."

"I haven't really thought about what's beyond Remnant." Yang pondered.

"I thinks that's enough wondering for today." Blake stated, noticing the sky growing pink. "Let's head back to the port and catch the airship back to Beacon. I'd rather not miss it."

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

"Got anything on radar yet?!" Shadow called back at Jared in the cockpit trying to get his voice through the rumbling jet engines propelling the craft across open water. He was standing next to the rear door to the cargo bay, staring at flat water as far as he could see.

"Negative!" Jared yelled back. "You feel like closing that back door?!"

"Hold up!" Shadow responded.

He had spent most of this trip staring at metal walls. It was nice to have something else to clear his head. It wasn't as much of a sight anyways, nor was is one that he would normally enjoy. The water reminded him of the endless oceans he'd see through the windows of Tipoca City back on Kamino; the only home he knew for most of his life.

"How much of Designer's search quadrant have we covered?!"

"About a third!" Jared answered. "Designer's search pattern has got me netting the area."

Shadow looked up at the ending daylight. The sun was setting and the blue sky was fading into a orangey pink colour, like a tangerine. What was still blue was slowly fading to black, revealing small white blips in the sky. Soon his view would be nothing but those stars. He never had the time to admire beauty before. Prior to his arrival on Remnant, every mission was strictly focused on completing his objective and making sure that he and his team came back in one piece. He never stopped to gaze at the beauty of a sunset or stop to look at the twinkling stars above his head. It was always the mission. Now that he could see it, it was absolutely gorgeous.

"Shadow!" Designer called to him in a mid wake up. "We are going to come up on our objective eventually, but you might want to get some shut eye while you can!"

"Copy." Shadow almost muttered.

He took one last gaze out at the setting sun, the warm sky, and the twinkling stars once more. He breathed in deeply, then exhaled. Shadow hit the button to the cargo bay door.

"Get at least six hours." Designer stretched and yawned. "You too Jared."

"Who's gonna fly the ship?" Jared asked.

"I can." Designer replied.

"Might as well poke me every few minutes or shake me around in my sleep then."

"Are you trashing my piloting skills?"

"There would have to be skills for me to trash in the first place."

"Go get some rest mister picky."

Jared stood from the pilot seat and let Designer sit in. He walked over and joined Shadow in the cargo bay.

"Wake us up in six." Shadow said.

"Gotcha." Designer acknowledged.

-Seoul 3rd Person POV-

"Commander on deck!" Seoul barked instinctively. There was really no need for it anyway. She and Detta were the only ones left.

Shash entered the room, once again returning from the artifact chamber. He has a look on his face, the same look he'd always have when he had the plan.

"Everything is ready." He said. "First assault begins in two days, but I'm sending you two out in the field right now."

"What's the mission sir?" Seoul asked.

"We are marking strategic points," Shash explained. "Make sure you two get a mark on the CCT and the airship ports. If there is an Atlesian Airship in the skies, mark that too."

"When do reinforcements arrive, _buir_?" Detta asked.

"Once you mark the targets, stay clear of them for the next few days and hunker down in the city." Shash stated. "I'll pick you up on their arrival. In the mean time, I'll prepare the White Fang and talk to Roman. And questions?"

"Torrents or Y's, sir?" Seoul spoke.

"Y's." Shash said with a smirk. "Dismissed. Start shipping out you two."

-GT 3rd Person POV-

"Datapad." TJ called out and tossed the item.

GT caught it with ease. He inspected it, noticing the screen had been cracked and the interior systems had been damaged. Like before, he shut his eyes and focused his mind and imagined fixing it. He imagined physically bonding every piece of glass on the screen, connecting every wire, and repositioning every little circuit board back into place.

"Works like a charm." GT opened his eyes with a smile. He hit the on button and the screen came to life.

"That is going to save us a lot of money." TJ pointed out.

"We'll still end up stealing it." GT chuckled.

"We've got to get money from somewhere." TJ reached under a bed while GT placed the repaired datapad in a box.

"I was thinking about that," GT nodded. "We should get a job."

"A job?" TJ cocked his eyebrow as he tossed GT a commlink with an earpiece.

"Yeah. I don't know. It's better than stealing. Stealing doesn't exactly help the economy here."

"Maybe when this all blows over." TJ shrugged. "No need to occupy ourselves when there is still a threat."

GT repaired the earpiece and slipped it in his pocket.

"Agh!" TJ grunted in pain. "Damn it!"

"What's wrong?" GT asked as he rushed over.

"Didn't notice the sharp piece of wood sticking out." TJ winced and revealed the streak of blood on the tip of his forearm. "Datachips by the way." He said and handed him three.

"Let's see if-" GT didn't finish his sentence as he reached out and made contact with his brother's wound. Focusing and feeling the way he did before, he released his grip, and the cut faded away.

TJ looked up at him and said, "Okay, you're semblance is less lame."

GT chuckled and helped him up. "Let's finish up here. I'm hungry."

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Shadow felt for his sidearm immediately when he shook.

"Rise and shine." Designer's voice appeared.

Shadow got up and sat upright on the bench.

"Are we here?" he asked.

"We got an island on long range radar," Designer explained. "I woke Jared up to start flying. If this is the correct island, they most likely have long range radar as well. Jared's keeping us under it as we speak."

"We are barely half an inch above the water." Jared stated, calling back from the cockpit.

Shadow got up and walked towards the cockpit, seeing pitch black outside. All they had for a view was the moonlight, that gave a silhouette of the island. Thankfully, the moon wasn't giving away enough light to reveal their position.

"Cut the interior lights and dim the controls," Shadow ordered as he stood beside Jared and looked through the glass. "Bring us is quiet. Des, got your gear?"

"All packed," Designer answered as he slung a duffle. "I need you to take a few sensors to set up though."

"Just put em in the the bag." Shadow said. "Jared, can you magnify that island on screen?"

"Trying to keep us steady," Jared bit his lip. "Everything is touch screen. Just play around with your hands."

Shadow activated the navigation screen for the Co pilot and magnified their view of the island.

"Designer, we've got the right place." Shadow stated. "We've got lights, enough for a base."

"Your call." Designer replied.

"Jared, bring us around to the darker side." Shadow told him. "Don't risk engine noise."

"Roger that," Jared replied. "ETA four minutes maximum."

"We'll be ready in three." Shadow assured and walked back into the cargo bay.

Shadow had to slip on his hood and activate his night vision. The ship was so dark, he couldn't see where he was going with a naked eye. The green filter slid over his HUD and gave the sight of Designer handing him a duffle. Shadow slung it and tightened the strap as much as he could to prevent rattling. He turned over to Designer who was handing him something.

"17M if you have to." Designer explained as he gave Shadow one of his silenced DC-17Bs. "Let's keep a low profile though."

Shadow nodded and strapped the pistol to his chest. Then the engine noise toned down, almost as if they were stopping.

"You have reached your destination." Jared said in a robot voice. "Thank you for flying with J airlines, have a nice day."

Shadow sighed and shook his head as he chuckled. "Stay with the ship Jared."

"Wait, what?" Jared turned around confused.

"We might need a quick exit if this goes sideways." Shadow explained.

"Great," Jared scoffed."I guess you're just counting on me to save your asses."

"Let's go Designer." Shadow said as he opened the rear door to the cargo bay.

Jared had parked them nicely about an inch off the shallow water. Shadow stepped off, feeling the water slush beneath him. He motioned to Designer and they moved into the small forest. They didn't have to trek too long, as the trees seemed to mostly be cleared out as the White Fang had set up the base. There wasn't even a massive wall surrounding it. The base itself was just a cluster of buildings and huts surrounding the main one, built into the base of a mountain.

Shadow heard a faint whirring coming from Designer as he was pointing his main sensor equipment at the mountain.

"Strange reading coming from that main edifice." Designer whispered. "I'm going to want a closer look."

"You still want to set up the little sensors?" Shadow asked.

"Definitely." Designer nodded. "Just around a few of the smaller buildings and maybe inside the larger one as well."

"Understood." Shadow acknowledged. "Circle left around. I'll circle right. We'll meet at the main one and enter together."

Designer gave him a thumbs up and faded away. Shadow envied his cloak. In daylight, you can see the shimmer, but in the shadows, you were completely invisible. Shadow had to sneak around traditionally. Thankfully, his motion tracker gave him an idea of where his opponents were. He hadn't taken anyone down yet as he was halfway around the complex, placing Designer's sensor probes on the exterior of each building. Then he dropped one. Shadow's motion tracker picked up a guard heading towards his position. He could hear his dialogue along with his partner.

"I could've sworn I heard something." He said as he neared Shadow's corner.

"Carl, we are the only ones on this island." his partner sighed.

Just as the guard turned the corner, Shadow activated his Kyber crystal powered wrist blade and jabbed it up his jaw. The guard didn't even have the chance to scream. He reeled the soldier into cover and drew his silenced DC-17B, poking out to shoot the guard's partner who was too stunned to react to the headshot. Shadow levelled the weapon everywhere, scanning for more guards. Satisfied he was in the clear, he pulled the other guard into cover, then continued on.

Finally, he met Designer at the main structure. Designer was already there, hunkered deep into the doorway to avoid being seen. He opened the door as soon as Shadow arrived. The two entered and the door slid shut. The corridor in front of them was dark and narrow. There didn't seem to be any cameras.

"We're you spotted?" Shadow asked Designer.

"Negative." Designer replied. "All without a hitch. You?"

"Had to take down two guards." Shadow sighed.

"Then let's hurry." Designer motioned forward. "Head to the command center, download their data."

"Where are you going?" Shadow caught Designer by the shoulder.

"Gonna go find out what is giving me the strange readings." Designer explained. "Take this." Designer gave Shadow a flash drive. "Private channel only."

Shadow nodded and Designer turned into thin air.

The building was only a story high and the corridors we're pretty easy to guess. It was formatted like a Republic base. Shadow easily made his way to the command center. As soon as the door slid open, he caught sight of seven targets. Only two of them were armed. Shadow quickly shot them down first, the others turning only when they heard the body drops. Shadow shot down the first soldier to turn, then the next. The others gasped in surprised, frozen for seconds longer, long enough for Shadow to take them out as well. The silenced DC-17B did it's job. Shadow emptied the grip and slapped a fresh magazine in.

"CC is clear," Shadow whispered over the commlink after making sure it was secure. "Download commencing."

Shadow plugged in Designer's flash drive.

"Have you got eyes on me?" Designer asked over the comms.

Shadow walked over to the security camera screens. "Only one camera here." Shadow said. "It's showing a room with-" Shadow paused when he caught sight of it.

"With what?" Designer asked. "The room with-" Designer paused as well. "Oh."

"Is that?..."

"The artifact that got us into this mess in the first place?" Designer filled in the blank. "Yep."

Shadow had only seen the artifact once, but he didn't forget the crystal that transported him to a new world and gave him a new life.

"Running scans." Designer continued. "Update on that download?"

"I've got all the main data," Shadow explained. "But there's an encryption code for the remaining files."

"Those must be the valuable ones." Designer remarked. "Give the flash drive a moment to decrypt."

Then Shadow heard footsteps outside the door. He levelled his DC-17B as soon as it slid open, putting three rounds in the lead man's chest. The others took cover behind the entrance. Shadow reached into his pack and pulled out a concussion grenade. He primed it and tossed. The bang resounded as he took cover. Shadow rushed to the doorway, shooting down the stunned soldiers. As he made sure they were dead, he noticed a radio attached to one of their hips. He picked it up, listening to the chatter.

"All teams to the command center!" Seoul's voice barked over the radio. "Intruders are trying to break into our network."

"Designer," Shadow clicked his commlink open. "Abort."

"What?" Designer responded in surprise.

"Abort." Shadow repeated as he ran back to grab the flash drive. "We're blown. Nova were monitoring the network. Download gave us away."

"Fuck." Designer cussed.

"Get topside before we get blocked off."

"I'll meet you at the door."

Shadow strapped the silenced pistol to his chest and drew his DC-17M. There was no need for silence anymore. Shadow sprinted as fast as he could down the corridors, eying his motion tracker as he ran. He slammed his heels into the industrial floor when he heard blaster fire. He turned a corner and saw Designer.

"Friendly on your six!" Shadow called out. Designer didn't bother turning. He finished his task at shooting down two White Fang soldiers before speaking.

"Just wonderful." Designer said as he reloaded. "I could use my other sidearm."

Shadow tossed him the silenced pistol and pressed on.

"Jared, do you read?" Shadow tried to contact him. Shadow's only reply was static.

"We're being jammed." Shadow frowned.

"You brought thermals?" Designer asked.

"One."

Designer sighed. "Well, fuck."

"I take it the only way out is that front door." Shadow asked.

"Mhm." Designer nodded. "We're going to need to pull some real magic out of our asses to get out if this."

Shadow led the way to the front door, experiencing no resistance on the way. He and Designer both took positions on the sides. Shadow hit the button and the door opened, revealing a wall of dust rounds plowing straight past them. After a few seconds, they ceased.

"Shadow!" Shash's voice came was amplified by his helmet speaker. "Fancy seeing you here!"

"Can't say the same!" Shadow called back.

"Well, you know the drill." Shash explained. "Surrender and die, or wait for us to come and kill you."

Shadow noticed Designer snaking a fiber optic camera out of cover and opening the view via his datapad. Shadow shrugged, signalling him, how many? Designer shook his head, signalling that there was too many to individually count.

"Well, I guess you want to die a heroic death." Shash suggested. "Fine by me."

All of a sudden, a loud whirring of cannons came from outside. It wasn't coming at them though. Shadow risked a peek to see what was happening. He caught sight of the White Fang running in horror, trying to escape was attacked them from above; Jared.

"I knew I'd have to save you idiots." Jared's chuckled over the commlink.

"Well don't expect a thank you for that." Designer scoffed.

"Hey, I could leave you right here, right now." Jared shot back. Designer and Shadow didn't reply. "That's what I thought. Now haul ass out of there. It's too hot for me to land. I'll pick you up at the beach."

"Copy." Shadow acknowledged then turned to Designer. "Let's go!"

Shadow and Designer just ran. They didn't stop for anything. They didn't stop for the explosions and gunfire happening around them. Jared seemed to be causing quite the devastation with the heavy dual gatling guns mounted at the bottom of the Atlesian Dropship. Soldiers screamed and scrambled for cover, but very few were capable of finding a safe spot from Jared's fury. Then the firing stopped as Jared quickly descended, heading straight for the beach to pick up Shadow and Designer. Shadow could now hear the dust rounds whistling past him. Still running, he turned and sprayed his DC-17M, not bothering to conserve ammo. Designer appeared to do the same.

"Enemy Bullhead about to take off!" Jared yelled. "Get onboard, now!"

Jared had already started to lift off. Shadow and Designer both leaped, springing off of their legs as hard as they can, just barely getting inside.

"Punch it!" Shadow managed to bark.

"Hold on to your armor!" Jared warned and punched the accelerator just as Shadow shut the rear door. The two slammed into the back of the cargo bay from the incohesive forces. Shadow felt his stomach turn inside out as Jared pushed the accelerator to maximum and zoomed away at top speed. "And we're clear." Jared announced.


	27. Chapter 27

-Blake 3rd Person POV-

It was a quiet morning. Yang was talking to Ruby and Weiss while GT and TJ were running through their personal gear. Tested was polishing and scrubbing his armor and equipment, something he did every morning. Blake was sitting down at the desk reading a book when the voice of Jared said, "Guess who's back."

The three armored figures entered team RWBY's dorm. Everyone immediately got up from their tasks to greet them. Blake went for a hug, which Shadow accepted.

"Good to see you three in one piece." GT nodded with a smile.

"You are back earlier than you said you would be," TJ pointed out. "I take it you found what you were looking for?"

"You don't know the half of it." Jared sighed. "Designer was right. There is an island and Shash has a base there."

"Of course I'm right, jackass. What, did you doubt me?" Designer chuckled.

"What we found at the island is what matters." Shadow changed to a more grim tone. Everyone gathered.

"Shall I play the video feed from my helmet?" Designer asked as he grabbed a holoprojector.

"It'd probably be easier to show rather than explain." Shadow nodded.

Designer placed the metal discus on the ground and tapped a few buttons on his wrist. "I captured this inside their base." He explained.

Blake didn't know what the video was showing. It seemed to be a beautiful crystal, colored red, white, black and yellow, almost like her team, but she didn't really know why this was important. But by the way GT, TJ and Tested reacted; she could tell that is was something that had impacted them in such a way.

"Is that…" TJ didn't finish his question.

"The artifact that brought us here in the first place?" Shadow finished. "Affirmative."

"You're shitting me." GT muttered.

"Why would that be here?" Tested asked.

"Well, I'd have to look over my sensory data," Designer shrugged. "But for now, I can only assume that it allows travel between both dimensions to run both ways."

"So this is a possible route home?" Tested asked.

"Possibly, yes." Designer nodded.

"I sense there's another side to the story." GT speculated.

"In fact there is." Shadow confirmed. "There is a huge military set up on the island. Shash has the White Fang mobilizing."

"He's not attacking Coruscant, that's for sure." Jared stated.

"So what's his angle?" TJ asked.

"That is something we'll have to leave to Designer to find out." Shadow replied. "In the meantime, let's get some well deserved rest.

-Detta 3rd Person POV-

"Position marked." Detta whispered over the commlink.

He crept around the docks in broad daylight. Even with his noticeable, non stealthy armor, he could hide just as well as the Shadow Troopers could. He didn't have to kill anyone yet, and that was a good thing. He opened the long range single beam communication link to Seoul once more.

"Come in Seoul." He whispered again. Communication was hard to accomplish over long distance. They had to make sure that the link wasn't compromised by Atlas, who was now heavily monitoring the grid. "Are you there, _cyar'ika_?"

"Call me _darling_ again Detta, and I'll jam my boot down your throat." Seoul hissed.

"Link secure?"

"Affirmative."

"What's your pos'?" Detta asked.

"Beacon," Seoul answered. "Base of the tower."

"_Aiya,_" Detta sighed. "It's hot there."

"Exactly why-" All of a sudden, the person on the link changed. He froze and listened hard. He took a breath of relief when he realized who it was. Seoul's voice became friendly, but she wasn't talking to Detta. "Hello."

"How can I help you?" A feminine computerized voice spoke.

"I'd like to make a call to a transport airline company to Atlas please." Seoul continued. Detta bit his lip hard to hold in the laughter. Not one time has he heard Seoul be friendly.

"Absolutely." The computerized voice answered. "I'll patch you through on terminal 6."

"Appreciated."

"So that's how you got in in broad daylight." Detta chuckled. "Leisure op."

"I don't enjoy it one bit." Seoul whispered in annoyance.

"The question is, _where did you get the clothes_?"

"It's easy to steal from seventeen year old girls." Seoul scoffed. "They just love leaving their dormitory windows open."

"Says the 12 year old." Detta teased. "But has nobody notice a woman who seems to be at peak human perfection?"

"I'm at a school made to train warriors." Seoul pointed out. "I passed by a girl carrying a giant hammer around saying she could bench _five_ of _herself_. I'm fine."

"You got cat called, didn't you." Detta laughed.

Seoul took a deep sigh over the commlink, and then replied with a ice cold, "How did you know?"

"Well," Detta decided to risk a statement. "I'll be honest. Some could say you have a nice… rack…"

"... Fuck you." Seoul growled. "Position marked. One more and I'm out of here." Seoul paused, then added, "By the way, if you want to know who 'cat called' me, check the hospital reports for severe genital damage."

Detta felt the slight instinct to cover up his crotch right now. "I see…" Detta replied uncomfortably. "Nice talk… meet you at the RV point."

-GT 3rd Person POV-

GT and TJ were at the gym. They carried their armor in duffle bags; a precaution given by Shadow, but they wore light clothing for working out.

"Glad to be out of Beacon." GT was doing one handed pull ups. "I was feeling congested in that room."

"There's lots of space though." TJ pointed out as he was doing bicep curls with dumbbells.

"When you don't take one step outside for two days TJ, you start to feel congested." GT paused to take a breath. He switched over to his left arm then continued.

"Is it me or does everything feel a bit out of shape?" TJ asked.

"We aren't fat if that's what you are asking."

"No," TJ paused and slowly laid the dumbbells on the ground. "I meant that something is off."

"TJ, something's always off." GT stated. "Ever since the Nova ARCs arrived, nothing has been the same."

"Mhm," TJ sighed. "I have another question."

"Shoot." GT said as he did one last pull up and lowered himself to the ground.

"Shadow and Designer say they may have found a way home."

"And?"

"Who plans on going home?"

GT stopped before he answered. TJ was right. Would Shadow and Jared leave Yang and Blake? Designer and Tested would most likely want to go home. GT didn't know what he wanted to do.

"Never thought about it." GT answered lowly. "What do you think?"

"Honestly," TJ sighed. "I don't like being a civilian. It feels _wrong_. It goes _against_ every gene in my body."

"It goes against _everything_ we were taught." GT finished.

"Exactly." TJ nodded. "We were bred to _fight_. I'm not saying I enjoy the bloodshed, but don't you kind of miss being a soldier and fighting for a cause?"

"Yeah." GT answered. "I do. I suspect that's why Tested and Designer are going to end up going home. We'd be splitting our team though. Shadow and Jared-"

"-_Have lives here_." TJ cut him off. "They have someone to _keep_ them here. We can't _force_ them to leave, but that shouldn't _enforce_ us to stay."

"But there's _another_ gene TJ," GT stated. TJ turned to him in confusion. "It's the one they enhanced from Jango to make us a more effective fighting force." GT noticed TJ seem to clench his jaw and lower his eyes when he realized what it was. "The gene that makes us _brothers_. It binds every clone. It keeps us _protecting_ our own, keeps us working _together_, it keeps us from growing _apart_."

TJ didn't say anything back. He knew GT was right. They wanted to leave and serve the Republic, but they also didn't want to abandon their brethren. _That_, gives them the reason to stay.

All of a sudden, the reverberating sound of something GT knew all too well broke his train of thought.

"What was that?" TJ asked.

"I don't know." GT shook his head.

"Armor?" TJ motioned to their duffels.

"Yes, let's go."

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

"Designer, the cloak is unnecessary." Jared sighed.

"I'd be a bit suspicious if I saw someone walking around with a rocket launcher, a sniper rifle, and a carbine weapon on them." Designer defended.

Jared, Yang, Ruby, Weiss and Designer were taking a stroll around town. Designer, feeling that the arsenal he was carrying would make someone want to call the cops on him, remained cloaked. Regardless of the explanation Designer gave, Jared walked around in his armor with his dual Katanas strapped to his pack and his DC-17M with his helmet clipped to the back of his belt.

"C'mon," Jared scoffed. "Local police force here is really kind of a joke."

"As much as I hate to admit it Designer," Yang commented. "The Po-Po here isn't exactly the best."

"Might have tightened up since the sneak attack on Beacon." Designer replied.

"You know what Designer," Jared sighed. "Do whatever."

"You'll be missing out the full experience of the fun we have." Yang tempted him.

"Are you going to go blow up a night club again?"

Yang turned in surprise. "How did you-"

"Super spy, Yang." Designer joked. "Super spy."

Yang rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"I wonder why Tested didn't decide to join us." Ruby said.

"Well he isn't exactly the most social individual." Weiss brought up.

"You're just mad because of the technological advancements he said they have has surpassedAtlas." Ruby grinned.

"_Claimed_ they have." Weiss corrected. "I honestly doubt we are that far behind them."

"They have space ships Weiss!" Ruby stated in utter awe. "SPACE SHIPS!"

"Space ships, lightspeed space travel, lasers, shields, and hovercars." Jared listed. "Cool stuff."

"I wanna go there!" Ruby said gleefully.

"Maybe after this." Jared chuckled. "As we were talking about earlier Designer, there is the police station."

"Hey, I remember that highway!" Ruby pointed. "Yang, remember when we fought Roman and he had a giant robot?"

"Heh, yeah." Yang smiled. "Broke that thing right in his face."

Even if Jared didn't see Designer, a quiet Designer was never a good one.

"You okay Des?" Jared turned and asked the thin air behind him.

"Mmm." Designer replied without stating a good answer.

"_Mmm_, is not a response. Is something wrong?"

"I've got a data link set up into the Atlesian Military command airship." He stated.

"Trespassing on military property." Weiss muttered.

"Oh, I'm sorry Weiss." Designer joked. "I didn't hear you. You seemed to be talking to thin air."

"No I'm not." Weiss shot back.

"I'm on your right, not left, snowflake."

Weiss just scoffed and crossed her arms.

"Heh, snowflake." Ruby nudged her. "Sounds better than Ice Queen."

"I-" Weiss paused before finishing the sentence. "-actually prefer ice queen."

"Here's another title," Designer said. "It comes from the department of _I don't give a fuck so shut up_. Your title;_ I'm fucking busy_."

"What's wrong Des." Jared asked.

"Three incoming ships on the long range scanners." He explained. "They are giving the signal of Atlesian military dropships, but they are moving way too fast and seem to be coming at an attack vector."

"Might just be a faster ship." Weiss suggested.

"Atlas will sort it out I guess." Designer muttered.

"So where do you want to go?" Yang asked Ruby and Weiss.

"You don't want to choose?" Ruby cocked her eyebrow.

"It doesn't matter to me." Yang smiled and leaned on Jared.

"Dear lord, get a room." Designer sighed. "Oh wait, that already happened."

"At least I actually got the chance Des." Jared joked. "Last I checked, you were single."

"Please Jared," Designer defended. "The only hoe I need is myself."

"Let's go to the dust store!" Ruby intervened, obviously disgusted by the conversation.

"Lead the way." Jared motioned.

All of a sudden, a large explosion resounded near their area, shaking the ground beneath Jared's feet.

"What was that?" He heard Yang ask just before he sprinted towards the center of the explosion. He knew Designer would be behind him, followed by the rest of the girls.

Jared wheeled a corner and came to a stop. His sight was the Vale city police department, flattened and burning. Another few close by thuds boomed through the air. He looked up this time, seeing the trio Atlesian Airships up top. Three quick, yellow painted, oddly shaped attack craft zoomed by one of the Airships, the Airship blowing up from the front all the way through the center a second after they passed. Jared recognized those attack craft all too well.

"What's going on?!" Weiss exclaimed.

Jared squinted at the oncoming craft as they came around again, dropping bombs all over a highway bridge.

"Designer." Jared called.

"I know." Designer replied grimly. "I saw them."

"You think we can call them off?" Jared asked.

"Worth a shot I guess." Designer shrugged. "Incoming aerial squadrons," Designer called over the Republic Channel on the commlink. "Hold fire on the city. This is tech officer Designer. I repeat, hold fire!"

Jared slipped on his helmet to listen to the response. "Tech officer Designer," the voice of Jango Fett replied. "Red leader speaking. Your command privileges have been revoked and you are a branded traitor. You and the other SBH are ordered to turn yourselves. Refusal to comply will result in death."

"Yeah well fuck you too." Designer replied and shut the link. "They'll be on a different scramble set now." He said to Jared.

"What is happening?" Ruby asked.

"If it isn't pretty obvious Ruby," Jared explained. "We are under attack. Designer, make contact with GT and TJ. See if you can get Shadow as well."

"What do we do?" Yang asked.

"There is nothing we can do about those incoming ships." Jared stated. "Protect the civilians. That's all we _can_ _try_ to do."

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Shadow was still in his armor when he and Blake were sitting in a field, watching the sunrise. The clouds grew orange and the sky that was once black as space faded to a navy blue. The sun peaked over the horizon in exaggerated slowness. It was beautiful, and Shadow was glad he was enjoying it with Blake. She leaned on his shoulder as Shadow put his arm around her.

"Miss me?" he asked.

"Mhm." Blake just cuddled.

"I caught a view like this over the ocean," he said. "Just a shame you weren't there."

"Something's on your mind." Blake stated.

"No, not at all." Shadow lied.

"Something's always on your mind." Blake restated. "It's really obvious."

"Two months of training my poker face on Freos in case of interrogation and it's foiled by my girlfriend." Shadow chuckled and sighed.

"What's on your mind now?" Blake asked. "Shash?"

"Not just Shash." Shadow answered. "It's the artifact that brought us here, and what we intend to do with it."

"What do you mean?"

"If Designer's theory is right, and it does make sense, we'll have a way back home."

"Oh." Blake bit her lip. "Will you be going?"

"You know the answer." Shadow shook his head. "The question is who will be returning? Jared I know he's going to want to stay, and it's for the same reason I want to, but what about Designer? The twins? Tested? They don't have much that's keeping them here. Designer has already told me that he's leaving, Tested is still a soldier, and I honestly don't know about the twins, but I've served with them for a long time. They're my brothers."

"Let people choose where they want to be Shadow." Blake told him. "You can't choose for them. As much as you don't want to lose people, you can't force them to stay."

Shadow took a deep breath. "You're right." He said. "I'm getting ahead of myself anyway. There's a large ocean and an army of White Fang, not to mention Shash, standing between us and that crystal."

"Focus on something else right now." Blake said.

Shadow turned and gave her a kiss. Then he sat back and let her cuddle next to him as the sun became visible. As the daylight began to roam the land, Shadow noticed something in the distance. A triangular shaped ship, very much unlike any Atlesian Airship he's seen before.

"Wait." Shadow sat more upright. "That's not supposed to be there."

_BOOM!_

Shadow immediately stood when he heard the blast. He turned and looked at the cause of the blast. It was the Atlesian Airship overwatching Beacon. It was in flames and speeding up for combat. Three lightning fast ships circled around before it could reach top speed. They zoomed fast, passing right over the airship, explosions trailing right behind them. The airship started to crack and crumble as it reeled over in interior explosions and engine failure.

"What the hell?" Shadow's face went pale.

"What is going on?" Blake asked.

Shadow squinted at the three craft coming around for another pass.

"It can't be…"

"Can't be what?" Blake asked.

"C'mon," Shadow pulled her. "Let's go!"

The two ran into the campus, passing by confused and stunned students without hesitation. Shadow took a quick look around to see the library, and two other dormitory buildings had been hit. What caught Shadow off guard was Ozpin's tower when the top floor erupted in flames. Shadow and Blake quickly staggered to avoid the incoming debris and gears raining down on the courtyard. That was Ozpin's office.

"Ozpin!" Shadow yelled as he ran for the base of the tower. He didn't stop to realize that the fighters we're now zooming behind him. With a direct hit, the base of the CCT blew up right in Shadow's face, the force of the impact slamming him in the chest, sending him crashing and sprawling over the pavement.

Shadow tried to get up, but his vision was blurry. He caught sight of a black and purple figure helping him up. He knew it to be Blake.

"We have to get up the tower." He coughed.

"The elevator is probably damaged." Blake pointed out.

"Doesn't matter."

Shadow kicked open the damaged doorway to the building. Everything was black and smokey, forcing him to close his eyes and squint. He slid his hood on and activated a low light filter, outlining everything in white. With Blake behind him, the two made their way to the elevator shaft. Surprisingly, it came down just as they approached it. The building still had power. The two entered the car and it brought them up to Ozpin's office. Shadow was quick to see the place in a mess. The structure was crumbling and the gears were not even shifting. The sound of a cough directed Shadow towards the desk.

"Ozpin!" Shadow called as he saw him trapped under a piece of a gear.

Shadow quickly kneeled and braced his arms on the gear. He lifted as hard as he could, but it only shifted. Then they began to part away. Shadow quickly let go in surprise, seeing Glenda Goodwitch moving the debris with her semblance.

Shadow knelt and helped Ozpin up.

"Ozpin, are you okay?"

"I believe," He coughed. "I deserve an explanation now."

Shadow turned as soon as he heard another explosion. This time though, it was in the distance. He sat Ozpin upright for Glenda to tend then looked over through the gaping hole in the wall, with the city in view. He saw the smoke emerging from the town with ships zooming everywhere.

"And I believe that explanation is going to have to wait." Ozpin sighed.

"Go," Glenda said. "I'll take care of him and mobilize whoever we have here."

Shadow nodded and switched to his commlink. "Tested, come in. Please tell me you are still alive."

"Affirmative," Tested replied over the channel. "Alive and well."

"What's your location?"

"Some soldiers seemed to survive the crash in that airship." Tested explained. "A few other students and I are trying to get them out of there."

"Did you see the attack craft?"

There was a short pause before Tested answered. "Yes. I caught a visual on them. Three Republic class BTL Y-Wing bombers."

"Then you know what's happening in the city."

"Kinda figured when they circled away."

"Can you remember where Designer parked that Atlesian Airship?" Shadow asked.

"Yep."

"Good. I need a pick up."

-Captain Yana 3rd Person POV-

Yana and the other officers on the bridge of the airship were just casually managing their posts and stations when five unidentified came stealthily at an attack vector and took out the Protector. The crew onboard the now crashing airship didn't have the chance to respond. Immediately, the bridge of the command airship sprang into action. The normal white and fluorescent colour of the bridge switched to a dark red hue.

"What was that?" General Ironwood asked.

"Five unknown targets sir!" Sergeant Argos reported from the radar station. "They are closing in on an attack vector for the Pillar!"

The other airship over the city the Pillar was starting to pick up speed. Yana saw the enemy attack craft circling around.

"General Ironwood to the Pillar!" The general slammed the communication grid on a standing console. "Evasive maneuvers! Enemy attack craft three o'clock!"

Yana saw the Pillar swerve in an attempt to evade but the y shaped attack craft dropped bombs all over it's top Starboard side. It reeled over from the impact, launching three Atlesian dropships before exploding in flames.

"Lieutenant Amber, push engines to 100%!" Ironwood barked.

"Aye General!" Amber replied.

"Enemy attack craft coming from our port, seven o'clock!" Argos cried.

"Captain Yana, hard Starboard!" Ironwood called.

"Hard Starboard aye!" Yana forced the ship to turn, the frame of the ship shuddering slightly in resistance to the quick motion.

A large explosion resounded throughout the ship, shaking the deck. Yana saw in the viewport as the fighters passed right over them.

"Damage report!" Ironwood yelled.

"Engines six through four lost!" Amber replied. "Dust propulsion systems damaged but still operable!"

"Sir, additional attack craft incoming on the long range scopes!" Argos said. "Judging by the amount of life forms detected, they are transports for the ground force!"

"Status on the current targets?"

"Circling around for another pass!"

"Lieutenant Piko, pull up Atlas on the emergency channel! Get reinforcements! Amber, give the alert for ground force deployment. Get everything on the ground asap. Androids, footsoldiers, Paladins, I don't care. Yana, get us away from the city. We are going to get shot down."

"Aye sir!" the bridge officers replied in unison.

"Here they come Yana!" Argos warned.

Yana knew that this ship was too big of a target not to get hit, and those attack craft we're too fast to miss. All she had to do was keep the attack from hitting the bridge. She could one of the screens on her console displayed a warning to remain still while infantry and fighters deployed. No chance in that, seeing the enemy attack craft returning.

"Making hard port!" Yana warned. "Brace yourselves!"

Yana yanked the wheel as hard as she could but it was no use. The explosive attack carpeted the Starboard side of the ship,

"Hit!" Yana screamed.

"Status!" Ironwood yelled.

"Engines one and two offline! Dust propulsion system failing!" Amber reported. "We're going down!"

"Yana, landing site!"

"Can't make for the water sir!" She gritted her teeth as she struggled to keep the nose of the ship pointed up. "Best I can do is the Commercial district!"

"Do it!" Ironwood replied. "Away from population densities! Piko, how's that distress call?"

"Closest reinforcements is a good seven hours out!" He announced in fear. "We're on our own."

"Amber, how many ground forces did we manage to launch?" Ironwood turned to the Lieutenant.

"About 70%!" Amber replied. "Everything else was still locked down, destroyed, or dead. Everyone who isn't dead or injured got out."

"Divert engines to the dust propulsion systems and the engines." He ordered. "Yana, land us as softly as you can!"

"Aye sir!" Yana replied nervously.

It was going to be a tough landing. The closest they really ever got to landing was docking with an elevated port. Landing on solid ground was a different story.

"Four hundred meters above ground!" Argos called. "Three hundred meters!" He said four seconds later.

"Everything to the dust propulsion!" Yana cried. "Cut the engines and everything else!"

"All energy transferred to dust propulsion!" Amber reported.

"Two hundred meters!" Argos called.

Yana felt the ship shuddering and exploding throughout. She tried to shut out the distractions as she leveled the ship.

"One hundred meters! Fifty meters! Thirty meters!"

"Brace for impact!" Ironwood cried.

-Yang 3rd Person POV-

"Go!" Yang yelled at a couple trapped in a burning bakery. She hefted the collapsed sign that blocked the doorway as high as she could, managing to get it a meter off the ground. "Go!" She yelled once more. The couple listened this time and ran. As soon as they cleared the bakery Yang dropped the sign. She turned to an oncoming Jared.

"Atlesian air support is getting shot down!" Jared informed. "Y-Wings are too fast for them."

"Did any of the soldiers land?" Yang asked.

"A few maybe." Jared shook his head. "If they did, then they are disoriented from the drop they had to make." Jared paused as he heard something within his helmet, probably the commlink system that the SBH were using. "Come again Designer?"

Yang slipped on an earpiece Jared gave to her and activated it. Designer's voice immediately came up.

"Y-Wings are circling back," He said. "Most likely for a resupply." Designer gulped over the commlink before continuing. "But we've got Larties inbound."

"Shit!" Jared cussed under his breath.

"What are Larties?" Yang asked.

"Larties," Jared stated. "The nicknames given to the Republic LAAT. It's a troop transport. The cavalry is coming."

"Yang!" Ruby's voice called over the link. "We need help at the bridge! Weiss is trying to use her ice to keep it from collapsing but we need to get the trapped civilians off!"

"I'll get there as fast as I can!" Yang replied.

Then Yang heard an engine noise she hadn't heard before. It was deep, gritty and almost reassuring. She looked up to see a large aerial vehicle with a large cargo bay pass over her, followed by white dots slowly growing bigger.

"Yang! Move!" Jared quickly tackled her to the ground as a missile flew past her, impacting the area she stood a moment ago. Jared, unphased by the attack, got right into a kneeling position, the visor of his helmet darting left to right as he scanned the skies. "Designer, they brought Torrents!" He exclaimed. "Yang, we have to get to cover. They are trying to keep us distracted from shooting down the airborne."

"Airborne?"

"The white armored soldiers parachuting down to us right above your head." He explained. "Let's go!"

-TJ 3rd Person POV-

TJ felt the air get knocked out of his lungs as he tackled GT, getting him out of the way of a fusillade of blue laser bolts.

"I guess that won't work." GT speculated.

"No shit." TJ said. "They got the message it was you the first few times you stood out of cover waving your hands and screaming _friendly_. Those shots are intentional."

"Great to know how we are repaid for service to the Republic." GT muttered.

"This is literally the one thing we were trained not to do." TJ sighed.

"Fuck it." GT cussed. He primed a thermal grenade and chucked it at a five man group of airborne troopers. The clones didn't have the time to react.

"Clear!" GT announced. "For now…"

TJ jogged over to the downed airborne troopers to check them out. His helmet HUD identified their military tags as troopers from the 5th Airborne Company of the Third Systems Army.

"They are clearing a landing site for the army." GT stated.

"Atlesian Airships are down." TJ nodded. "I'd say they have their landing site."

"Let's go find the others." GT suggested.

"Agreed."

TJ led the way out the door. He had his DC-17M trained forward as be scanned the street around him. This area of the city had been left untouched by the bombing. But judging by the trio of airborne troopers who had now seen them, it was being searched. TJ quickly aimed down the sights of his rifle, squeezing the trigger as soon as they lined up with his target. The first clone dropped, almost too slowly for TJ. His heart felt broken. These were the men he served with. These were the men he supported in battle. The worst part was how easy it was. He felt the same callous feeling as he shot down the last two.

"Two targets down." He called out. TJ looked up and heard the reassuring engine noise of the LAATs. The _chonker-chonker-chonker _sound of the Larty was the signal of hope among clones. It meant many things; Reinforcements, supplies, evacuation, but as TJ saw it come by and launch rockets towards a highway bridge, he knew it was none of those things right now. "Concentration of activity towards the city center."

"Thought I saw V-19s headed that way as well." GT added.

"Torrents?" TJ asked nervously.

"Y-Wings as well, but they circled back."

"That's so reassuring." TJ scoffed sarcastically.

"Let's get over to the city center and help out." GT suggested. "The others might be there."

"Affirmative." TJ nodded and motioned GT down the road.

-Designer 3rd Person POV-

"Enemy armor inbound!" Designer screamed at a group of Atlesian soldiers coming out of a crashed dropship. "Get out of there!"

Seven of the ten soldiers reacted to the command, the other three incinerated by the blast of an All Terrain Tactical Enforcer. The massive six legged AT-TE hobbled over closer and closer to them. The soldiers already started running. Designer reached back for his RPS-6 launcher, but dove out of the way when he realized the main gunner aiming for him. Even with his evade, he wasn't fast enough to clear the blast. It slammed him in the back, launching him up and forward. Designer landed flat on his belly, skidding on the pavement. Designer struggled with all of his might to get up. If he didn't move now, he was doomed.

Then Designer heard the mechanical footsteps of an Atlesian Paladin. He turned to see it open fire on the AT-TE, opening fire with it's main heavy dust cannons. The AT-TE shrugged off the dust rounds and pressed forward, the main gunner moving to target the Paladin. The Paladin ejected an array of missiles from its shoulders and opened fire. The shots came up and around, hitting the top of the Republic Walker. The main cannon was still lining up its sight. With one, large, explosive, ionized projectile, the cannon hit the mech square in the pilot seat, blowing apart the torso. With the AT-TE distracted, Designer had enough time to aim with his rocket launcher. Her squeezed the trigger and watched as the rocket impact the open canopy for the pilot and copilot. The walker arched up, throwing the gunner off his seat and landing headfirst on the pavement, and crashed forward, collapsing in a heap.

"Heads up," Designer opened the private link. "They've got walkers."

"Seriously?" Jared grumbled. He sounded as if he were in combat.

"A few Atlesian soldiers and mechs may be on the ground but they are in disarray." Designer said. "Pull into the city so we can regroup."

"Copy." Jared replied.

Designer cleared his voice and opened up a link on the Atlesian Military radio channel. "Attention all Military personnel, and droids, whatever, regroup at the city center!"

"Who are you?" And authoritative voice asked. "Identify yourself."

"Grand Army of the Republic Special Operations Brigade Tech officer Designer." Designer answered. "Before you question that authority, recognize that you are all getting your asses whooped, so I'd imagine you are all open to suggestions."

There was a moment of silence over the radio network. "Copy that. All units, regroup at city center."

"SBH and team RWBY, come in!" Designer heard the voice of Tested over the commlink as soon as he switched back to the private channel. "Reinforcements have arrived!"

Designer scanned the sky and saw one Atlesian Dropship fighter maneuvering from the oncoming V-19 Torrent fighters. It took a barrel roll and opened fire, taking down a fighter. Designer quickly ran the dropship number through the Atlesian database. That was the one he, Jared and Shadow stole."

"Shadow, this is Designer," Designer responded. "Get to the city center!"

"Copy that Designer!" Shadow's voice sounded as if he were gritting his teeth. Designer looked to see a duo of Torrents chasing them him. "I'll try to get there in one piece."

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

"There!" Tested pointed at the city center from the co pilot station. "Atlesian forces regrouping at the city center."

"Understood." Shadow bit his lip and pulled the triggers on the wheel. The main gatling guns mounted on the front tore two V-19s apart.

"Watch your rear!" Tested called out.

Shadow didn't react until two resounding bangs shuddered the dropship.

"We're hit!" Shadow announced. Shadow arced the dropship around, but the V-19s were far more agile. A few more bangs resounded, followed by an explosion. He caught Blake struggling to hold on to something in the corner of his eye. "Dammit!" Shadow cursed.

"Right engine offline!" Tested cried. "Keep it steady!"

"I can't!" Shadow exclaimed. "We're going down!"

Shadow looked through the viewport and saw the ground come into view. Slowly, it started to spin and come closer and closer.

"Pull up!" Tested shouted!

Shadow screamed pulled the wheel up as hard as he could. He couldn't even tell he was screaming. The ground disappeared below them, but they still fell.

"Brace for impact!" Shadow warned.

The interior of the dropship, shook and shuddered. The entire deck rattled. Shadow was struggling to hold onto his seat. Finally, the shaking stopped. Shadow shook his head to clear his vision. He felt a bruise on his forehead; probably from slamming into the console.

"Everyone alright?" Shadow heard Tested groan.

"I'm good." Shadow gritted his teeth from the pain. "Blake?"

"I'm okay." Blake replied.

Shadow turned to see Blake strapped in a seat in the cargo bay.

"Let's move." Shadow equipped his DC-17M and slipped on his hood.

Tested hit a few buttons from his station and the rear door creaked open. The door and ramp did not open completely, as the damage to the frame and ground limited its entrance. Shadow was first out, Tested on his left flank, scoping the area with his DP23 and Blake on his right flank, morphing her Gambol Shroud into a pistol.

The outside was a mess. They had landed just on the edge of the town center, right in front of a shop. Shadow's motion tracker went wild as it picked up massive amounts of Atlesian Military androids, soldiers and mechs falling back into the city center. Among them was Designer, barking orders among them to set up defensive positions. Shadow immediately ran up to him.

"Don't lose that intersection!" Designer yelled before turning his attention to Shadow. "Nice of you to drop in you three."

"More like crash." Shadow shrugged. "Where are the others?"

"Jared went with Yang to help Ruby and Weiss evacuate a group of civvies on the highway bridge- Get down!" The four of them ducked as a V-19 Torrent swooped by and knocked over two Paladins, engulfing the mechs in smoke and flame. "I don't know about the twins."

"We should go find everyone else." Blake suggested.

"Not gonna happen little miss kitten," Designer disagreed. "We are surrounded."

"What are we dealing with?" Shadow asked.

"Well, from what I've seen," Designer explained. "5th company airborne troopers, maybe another, and a few infantry platoons accompanied by-"

Designer was cut off by the massive explosion at one of the intersections. Three Paladins went up in smoke, followed by groups of retreating soldiers.

"-Accompanied by AT-TE walkers!" Designer finished as he shouldered his RPS-6 rocket launcher and rushed towards the collapsed defence.

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

Jared and Yang leaped down from a fire escape, catching a group of Airborne troopers off guard. As soon as Jared hit the ground he reached back and drew his Katanas, whirling into a spin attack and decapitating three of them. The lead man leveled a DC-15S at him in reflex, yelling "Look out!" before pulling the trigger.

Jared sidestepped to the right, then left, getting close enough to slice the barrel of the carbine weapon clean off. He spun and sidekicked the soldier away, knocking him into a group of crates. Jared turned to assist Yang with the remaining four, but realized he wasn't needed. Yang had already landed on one's back on the way down. She proceeded to fire an explosive round of dust at a troopers, sending him flying away. The other two tried engaging her in hand to hand combat. Their mistake. She quickly swept her leg under the first and with the combined power of her strength and Ember Cecilia, she punched the trooper to the ground. The other one tried to level its blaster but Yang was faster. She sidestepped off the wall to her right and launched her fist right into the front of his helmet, and with the added impact of the Ember Cecilia, broke the front of his helmet.

"Nice work." Jared smiled, then realized Yang's face was in shock and fear. Jared looked over to see she was looking at the exposed face of the airborne trooper she had taken down.

"You guys weren't kidding with the term _clones_." She took a deep breath.

"Well, I'm pretty sure you got the idea from seeing that GT and TJ look like an older version of me." Jared explained.

"It's gonna take me a bit to get used to that."

Jared whirled around instinctively after hearing a rustle and slit the throat of the lead airborne trooper, watching his clone grasp its throat and heap over.

"Honestly Yang," Jared sighed. "I shouldn't even be used to this."

The sound of nearby battle caught their attention. Jared sheathed his Katanas and drew his DC-17M, leading the way. The two reached the source of the conflict, finding Ruby and Weiss fighting off a group of clone troopers from the Third Systems Army, accompanied by an AT-TE. The walker hobbled over closer and closer to the duo as they fought to stay alive. Ruby twirled and launched herself around utilizing her scythe with absolute precision. She whirled around, smacking away a trio of troopers who had gotten too close, then used the recoil of the built in sniper rifle to fire herself at a rifleman taking aim. She hit the soldier square in the chest, knocking him away. She whirled around and launched herself once more in realization of the advancing walker. Weiss zoomed past soldiers, incapable of knowing what to do with her. She swung her weapon left at right, disarming soldiers and whacking them away.

"Weiss!" Ruby called as the Walker aimed its main cannon at them.

Weiss stabbed her weapon into a ground, forcing a wall of ice to erect from the ground. The cannon fired, incinerating the ice wall and knocking Ruby and Weiss away.

"Yang, go for the front leg!" Jared yelled after taking aim at the gunner. At this angle, he had a clear shot. With a quick three round burst, the gunner went limp in his seat.

Yang charged at the front leg as and threw everything she had into the punch that made contact with one of the front legs on the walker. The walker shuddered, but did not topple over. Jared morphed his weapon into its anti armor attachment and prepared to fire, but Weiss and Ruby were ready.

Weiss came up and froze the ground beneath the walker. Its feet began to lose traction on the ground but it stood firmly. The ball turrets near the driver canopy started to target her, but Ruby didn't let that happen. Jared was surprised at how quickly and cleanly Ruby sped by and sliced the barrels off. Jared realized what they were doing.

Weiss attacked once more, shooting ice at one of the front legs of the walker, freezing it. Yang was now beside Jared, and one of Weiss's glyphs appeared behind her. She cracked her knuckles and cocked her Ember Cecilia. She pushed off her right leg, sliding across the ice with increased speed provided by Weiss's glyph. Then Ruby zoomed by, and turned into a tornado, not stopping until she made contact with the iced front leg. It shattered like glass. Only seconds after, Yang slid at the middle leg on the same side, punching it as hard as she could. The walker reeled and toppled over to it's right and nearly flipped onto its back from the combined attack. Jared ran and slid by the open canopy, letting loose a grenade from his weapon into the pilot and copilot seat. The cabin turned into smoke.

"Great plan." Jared chuckled in amusement.

"Are you two alright?" Yang asked, mostly focused on Ruby.

"We're okay, thanks to you two." Ruby replied.

"We managed to evacuate the highway and lead them off the streets." Weiss explained. "But we had to draw the oncoming soldiers away to protect the civilians."

"Already risking your life to protect others, eh sis?" Yang nudged Ruby.

"It's our duty." Ruby shrugged.

"More of them!" Jared called out and aimed at two black figures coming through the smoke. He lowered his weapon when he realized they were friendlies. "GT, TJ," Jared announced. "Where the hell have you two been?"

"On the quiet side of town." GT explained.

"It's mainly the key areas of escape, evacuation, and support that appear to be targeted by the ground and aerial forces." TJ stated. "Suburbs and agricultural areas were left untouched, other than the rare squad of Airborne."

"Have the V-19s swerved off?" Jared asked.

"Negative." TJ shook his head. "They seem to be concentrating their efforts on the city center. That appears to be where the main conflict is happening."

"Have you made contact with anyone else?" Jared asked.

"The communications are being jammed." GT shook his head. "Republic channels we have are all white noise and conventional radio is nothing at all."

"We have to find a way to take out the ships." Ruby said.

"Ruby is right," Yang seconded. "With the Atlesian fleet taken down, the ground forces don't stand a chance with those ships zooming by."

"I'm open to suggestions." Jared shrugged.

"Actually…" GT seemed to be in thought. "Do you remember where one of the Atlesian Airships went down?"

-Seoul 3rd Person POV-

Seoul stood in the command station of the bridge on an Acclamator-Class assault frigate. She stared at the holotable projecting the assault on Vale. She was disappointed. She wanted to be in the fight, supporting strategic positions and softening enemy emplacements on the battlefield. Instead, Shash had ordered her and Detta to remain on this frigate. Shash was back on the island, configuring the artifact to transport the second Acclamator. She turned her attention to the Marshal Commander Felwinter controlling the bridge.

"Sir, the Y-Wings have returned for a resupply." A clone technician announced.

"Excellent. Rearm them for another bombing run." Felwinter ordered. "The enemy forces have gathered in the city center, just as predicted. We can take them out in one run."

"Yes sir." The technician acknowledged and went about his task.

"Is something bothering you Lieutenant?" Felwinter asked, referring to Seoul's rank.

"I'm a bit anxious to join the fight sir." Seoul answered.

"As much as you would've been able to prevent casualties," Felwinter explained. "Commander Shash doesn't wish to spend you on this operation. He is saving you for something."

"Understood sir." Seoul obeyed with an almost noticeable hiss in her tone.

Detta strolled through the bridge entrance when the doors slid apart. His armor appeared to be restored. It seemed like an entirely new set.

"You should head over to the armory." Detta advised Seoul as he came up to the holotable. "Sharpened my blades, polished my armor, and replaced damaged parts. I also picked up a 15S."

"Later." Seoul remained focused on the battle.

"Seoul, go fix yourself up." Detta sighed. "Might as well re enter combat with your gear in good condition."

"Why did Shash not send us down there?"

"He has a plan Seoul."

"You would follow him that blindly?" Seoul asked.

"I thought you would too."

Seoul bit her lip. She trusted Shash completely, but she felt she could've been more useful.

"Get some rest Seoul." Detta said as he made his way off the bridge. "I know I will be getting some.

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Shadow and Blake charged into a phalanx of clones moving to storm a group of Atlesian soldiers. Shadow didn't use his DC-17M. He drew his dark sword from his back and came right through. He caught the first soldier by surprise, emerging through the smoke and with the added black flames to his weapon, he slashed a deep cut through the center of his chest, nearly separating him. Shadow continued his charge into the next two soldiers who had the time to level their weapons. Blake came from behind and with her weapon morphed into a sword, cut right under their boots, sending them head under heels. Shadow came by and swiped the ground, burning the two almost instantly. Blake flipped over him and morphed her weapon into a kusarigama, swinging it around to knock away and stun two more soldiers. She landed back on her feet and gripped her weapon back as a pistol and fired at another clone about to shoot her. Three shots hit him in the leg, forcing him to drop to one knee, giving Shadow enough time to jam his sword right through his spinal cord, feeling the crack and crunch of armor as he dug in the blade. He pulled the blade out at let the soldier collapse.

"Look out!" Blake exclaimed.

Shadow turned and saw the main cannon of the following AT-TE target him. He sprang forward as hard as he could, feeling the heat of the blast warm his back as he rolled into recovery. Then two heavy dust bolts impacted the front of the six legged walker. Shadow turned and realized it was a Paladin. With the walker distracted Shadow ran up to the front leg, just barely sliding under the forward turrets oncoming fire. He got up and concentrated his flames into his Dark Sword.

"Blake, now!" He yelled.

Blake came at him with her aura and energy focused into her sword as she slashed at the front leg at the same time Shadow did. The leg parted clean off and the walker tripped and fell forward. Shadow grabbed a thermal detonator from his belt and jabbed his sword into the canopy of the pilot and copilot. He pulled the sword out and tossed the thermal into the hole left behind. As Shadow and Blake ran back to a safe distance, the canopy and almost the entire front half of the tank blew apart.

"This side's clear!" Shadow called out to the Atlesian soldiers guarding this position.

He and Blake went back to Designer who was hanging with a group of Paladins, targeting their weapons at the sky. A V-19 Torrent swooped by, blowing apart one of the Paladins. Designer took aim at it with his RPS-6 rocket launcher as it began to trail off. He fired the rocket and watched it home in on the fighter, leave a flash of fire and smoke, then dip down and crash.

"These Torrents are wearing us down." Designer shook his head. "We are just barely surviving."

"Have the Y-Wings returned?" Shadow asked.

"Not yet."

"How many men are still alive?"

"Enough," Designer responded in grief. "And enough will survive if we get rid of those Torrents."

"Shadow!" Tested's voice came up on the short wave commlink. "Assistance on the west side! Paladins are down! Enemy armor is advancing past the intersection! It's only me and three others!"

"Coming Tested!"

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

"I'm alright." General Ironwood said as Jared hauled him out of the crash.

The General's main commanding Atlesian Airship had crashed in the commercial district of Vale. The survivors were the members of the crew onboard the bridge and a few wounded soldiers within the cargo area.

"What is going on right now?" Ironwood asked in fear of loss.

"Extensive casualties to your men General." Jared explained. There have been civilian bombings on strategic targets, but enemy attack craft left almost all residential areas untouched."

"Ruby Rose." The general looked at Ruby, recognizing her. "We meet again."

"Always willing to help out." Ruby stated in a happy tone.

"Where are the other two?" One of the bridge officers asked.

"GT and TJ?" Yang asked. "They went to go salvage what they could from your hangar."

"I'm afraid they will find little to nothing in there." Ironwood sighed. "All the craft that was flyable had the chance to leave the ship already. Even if there were more craft in the hangar, they would certainly have been damaged in the crash-"

Ironwood was cut off by the rising jet sound of an Atlesian Dropship. Slowly, it rose from the now vertically placed hangar exit. It turned around and the rear door slid open, revealing TJ.

"Jared!" He yelled. "I forgot to mention that GT can fix things! Feel like giving those Torrents the hurt?"

"Gladly!" Jared smiled under his helmet.

-Tested 3rd Person POV-

"Stay down!" Tested yelled as he and three other Atlesian soldiers occupied a corner store, stopping the troopers of the third systems army from advancing. His DP23 did not possess the range to open fire from his spot, so he picked up a fallen DC-15A on the way.

"There're too many of them!" one of the soldiers exclaimed in fear as he poked his head out of cover to see the 20 troopers slowly advancing. "That walking tank is going to incinerate us!" He noted the AT-TE.

"Ignore it!" Tested ordered. "Focus on the infantry!"

The soldier peeked out of cover once more, then said, "Screw it!", and ran out of the building to retreat into the city center.

Tested was about to stop him, but was too late. The heavy cannon from the AT-TE hit him dead on. There was nothing left of him to see.

"Damn it Conner!" One of his comrades gritted his teeth in shame.

"He's gone! Focus on the battle!" Tested stated.

From their defensive positions, they laid down suppressing fire upon the other clones. Four of the white figures dropped dead on surprise, warning the others to return fire. Tested could hear them now. They had the exact same voice as him. He tried to ignore it, but he could clearly hear them.

"Droids on the right!" One of them called, sighting a group of Atlesian Androids.

"Blast those clankers!" Another yelled.

"Watch your left lads! Targets in the building!"

Tested shut out the chatter and started opening fire. The heavy rounds of the DC-15A rifle tore into cars, mailboxes and garbage cans. One lucky shot even ignited the car's fuel tank, lighting it up next to two clones.

"That tank is in firing range!" One of the Atlesian soldiers pointed out.

Tested looked at a different angle and saw the main cannon move to target them.

"Get down!" Tested screamed and ran, attempting to form a shield as they retreated.

_Boom!_

The shot obliterated most of the store. Tested got up as quickly as he could, just barely keeping himself conscious. A loud ringing made the world a dream, but his combat instincts were kicked in so much, he almost didn't realize he checked the pulse of other two soldiers who were with him. One was dead, and the other had a weak pulse.

Slowly everything around him came back to reality. He turned back, seeing the oncoming TSA troopers. He picked up the unconscious soldier and threw him over his shoulder. He unslung his DP23 and started firing at the clones, stopping them from advancing. He kept firing as he retreated. A few meters out of the building, and another group of Atlesian soldiers came to assist them. Shadow and Blake quickly stopped when they saw Tested.

"Medic!" Tested called out.

"Tested, fall back!" Shadow barked and let loose a grenade from his DC-17M's anti armor attachment, into the shop. Tested didn't turn to see the outcome. He continued moving, stopping at two more Atlesian soldiers who took the wounded one off his back and carried him off.

"Too many." Tested panted and shook his head. He turned towards the shop as the assisting group of Atlesian soldiers were blown away by the AT-TE. "Everyone that was with me over there is dead."

Tested could hear the clunking of the Walker getting closer now.

"Fall back!" Shadow yelled at all the Atlesian soldiers in his area. "They've broken through!"

"Not for long!" The familiar voice of Jared came up over the Atlesian Military channel.

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

"Take 'em down boys!" Jared said over the commlink. He, GT, and TJ all flew Atlesian dropships into the battle above the city center. "Yang, Ruby, Weiss, drop now!" He yelled at the group getting ready to drop into the battle. The three girls jumped, disappearing into the conflict below.

"Watch your rear Jared!" TJ warned him.

Jared didn't bother looking. He immediately angled the engines, moving the craft into a backflip, and accelerating. As soon as the previously pursuing V-19 Torrent came into his sights, he pulled the trigger. The twin gatling guns mounted at the front of the craft opened fire, the rapid fire dust rounds impacting the Republic fighter until it caught fire, crashing into an AT-TE. He made a sharp turn and brought the dropship's arms to bear on another duo of Torrents. He fired, shooting down one of the fighters, but the other one pulled up and swirled around, coming straight at him. Blue bolts started flying at him. Jared whirled and spun the craft, avoiding all but one shot that impacted on the hull. _No you don't._ He cut the engine and the craft went into freefall, only reactivating them when the nose pointed down. With the fighter in his sights, he rained the dust rounds onto the fuselage of the Torrent, sending it plummeting straight down. Just as Jared went on to take out another fighter, something on his left caught his eye. He smiled and opened the link on their comm channel.

"Shadow," Jared said. "The calvary has arrived."

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Shadow stabbed one TSA soldier right in the chest and grabbed another by the neck and slamming him to the ground. He ignited his black fire in his hands, burning the soldier's throat away almost instantly. He dropped his sword and drew his sidearm, shooting down two more. With a thundering boom and a heat wave, he heard a group of Atlesian soldiers get blown away. Shadow picked up his sword and saw an AT-TE with a clear shot on all of their forces.

"Down!" Shadow heard someone yell.

Shadow's cold hard instincts collapsed his knees and sent him into the pavement flat on his belly. His only sight was a rocket flying right into the canopy of the Republic Walker. Shadow turned and stood, seeing Designer.

"That was the last rocket I was carrying." He explained. "The walkers are pressing the attack. There's only about thirty five, maybe forty of us left."

With another boom, an Atlesian Paladin caved in it's cockpit and blew itself apart.

"And our last Paladin…" Designer said breathlessly.

"They're coming at us from all but one angle, except if we head that way, we put civilian lives at risk." Shadow gritted his teeth.

"If we get shot out here in the open, they're dead anyway." Designer replied.

Shadow took a deep breath and nodded.

"Atlesian forces, pull back!" Designer ordered over the Atlesian network. "I repeat, pull back! Enemy armored units making a push!"

"Shadow! Look out!" Tested ran past the two and held his hands out.

Shadow went pale when he saw a cannon round getting closer and closer. Tested seemed to do something. A light, blue wall appeared between them and the round, like a shield. The round exploded on impact and the shield dissipated. Tested flew back into Designer and Shadow as if he were shoved in the chest by a wampa.

"Tested!" Shadow called to the Sergeant as soon as he got up. "Tested! Talk to me!"

Shadow crawled over to the downed Sergeant and removed his helmet. He placed two finger under his jaw, feeling for a pulse. It was there.

"Shadow, we've gotta go!" Designer barked. "Now!"

Shadow placed Tested's helmet on and looked over at the intersections. The five intersections they had been defending had an AT-TE walker slowly hobbling out. The main cannons started taking aim. Shadow threw Tested on his back and ran, Designer firing a few shots from his DC-15X sniper before running with him. On Shadow's motion tracker, as explosions hit everywhere around him, he saw friendly blips on his motion tracker slowly fade away. Finally, he and Designer made it back to team RWBY, who were with no more than twenty Atlesian soldiers left. The four girls were firing away with everything they had, but even with the dust and powers they carried, it was not going to be enough.

"Shadow!" Blake called out.

"I'm okay." Shadow waved her off.

"Is Tested-?"

"-Unconscious."

"We've got six legged metal thingys of death!" Ruby pointed at the oncoming walkers.

"We can't fall back." Yang stated. "Civilians are hidden past here."

"We can't fight this either." Weiss said as she made an ice wall of cover to set Tested down.

"I agree with snowflake." Designer replied. "We don't have the firepower to bring it down, nor do we also have the luxury of getting close to it. They'll be hitting us ranged as soon as they get a clear shot."

Designer was right. They were finished.

"Shadow," Jared called over the commlink. "The cavalry has arrived!"

Shadow looked up to see Bullhead dropships fly above them, figures jumping right off. Shadow took a sigh of relief as he recognized them. Hunters and Huntresses in training from Beacon. He recognized Glenda all too well as she levitated a downed Paladin and threw it at one of the walkers.

Shadow heard the "whoo!" of the remaining Atlesian soldiers. "Give it to them!" Another said.

Shadow looked at Team RWBY. The looked back and nodded back at him.

He drew his dark sword and ignited it with his black flames.

"Let's finish this fight!" He yelled.

-Marshal Commander Felwinter 3rd Person POV-

"Report!" Felwinter barked. "What happened?!"

"Enemy reinforcements caught our attack force off guard sir!" a clone technician announced. "They are being overwhelmed!"

"Are the Y-Wing bombers prepped for launch?" Felwinter asked.

"Yes sir!"

"Launch them!"

"Belay that order sir." The voice of Commander Shash slithered into the bridge.

"Excuse me Commander?" Felwinter spoke with authority.

Shash didn't say anything until he stood right in front of Felwinter.

"The attack was a failure from the start." He said. "The mission was to cut enemy communications and take the city before they could call for help."

"I do not see the point in your recovery strategy then," Felwinter brought up. "We can bomb them here and now, then take the city."

"And what do we do about the twenty enemy warships inbound?" Shash shot back coldly. "The twenty warships that were called by the Atlesian airships here, the ones that your bombers failed to stop from calling for help."

Shash seemed to pause to let that sink in. Felwinter thought for a few moments. Shash was correct. The bombers had failed to stop the enemy from calling for help, and now they were about to be heavily outnumbered.

"My advice, sir," Shash continued. "Save your bombers for another time."

"... Alright Commander." Felwinter said after a few moments. "But be sure that you think strategical."

"Do I not do so already?" Shash asked.

"Your thinking may be clouded by the fact you had just lost almost all members of your squad," Felwinter explained. "Members you picked, trained, and fought with personally."

"I assure you sir," Shash stated. "My focus on the conflict is 100%."

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

This battle was over. All the walkers we're down and all the TSA soldiers were either dead or running scared. Shadow sliced a surviving trooper in the throat as he walked over his dead platoon. Around the city center, he spied Glenda already repairing buildings and several other Beacon Academy students finishing up the conflict. One of them had a giant chain gun and was firing away at retreating TSA troopers. Another had a grenade launcher type weapon and was doing the same. He turned and caught sight of Yang bang the heads of two Clones together. She dusted her hands off and gave him a big smile with a thumbs up. Ruby was twirling her Scythe around, quickly knocking out any surviving troopers with Weiss. Blake came beside Shadow.

"How's Tested?" He asked.

"Medics say he's fine." Blake replied. "Although he has taken considerable stress on his brain and his energy."

"Shadow, skies are clear." Jared said over the commlink. "No more oncoming Torrents."

"Use your long range scanners." Shadow said. "Can you still pick up the Republic ship?"

"Negative." Jared replied. "The Republic ship that Designer picked up when this happened is gone."

"That worries me."

"Me too." Jared agreed. "Me, GT and TJ can be medical transports. Organize your wounded if you have any."

"Copy that Jared."

"Shadow," Designer came up to him. "What's the story in the skies? Any reinforcements or bombers incoming?"

"No." Shadow answered. "Jared said he's picking up nothing on the long range scanners."

"Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa," Designer stopped him. "What? Nothing? Like, zip?"

Shadow shook his head. "Nothing."

"That is not good."

"I know." Shadow sighed. "Well worry about it later. What's the story here?"

"Crap for the most part." Designer said. "Glenda's already split students into their teams for search and rescue while she tries to fix everything. There are a few civilian casualties, no more than fifty. Lots of military casualties though. All the droids are trashed, the crews and soldiers of two Atlesian Airships are dead with no survivors, the only crew to survive in the other downed airship is Ironwood and a few others, and the group force that deployed has been cut down to nineteen, and of those nineteen, two have critical injuries and the rest have at least a minor one."

"Only nineteen?" Shadow said palely. "How many of them dropped?"

"Lots of crews were shot down by the Torrents and didn't even get the chance to step out of their dropship." Designer explained. "Of the Atlesian forces that dropped, a little less than a third survived to join the battle."

"What's the status on Republic forces?" Shadow clenched his fists.

"Full retreat." Designer said. "They might either try to leave the city or hunker down with civilians. They lost their advantage when they lost their armored units. I estimate at least thirty survived."

"Atlas is not ready to kick down doors to find them."

"I think our main focus should be on why they were abandoned." Designer pointed out. "This wasn't a fully fledged attack force. Two airborne companies and several platoons can't hold a city, even with lethal airsupport."

"I guess we know how they got here at least. When does Atlas reinforcements arrive?"

"Twenty warships." Designer replied. "About an hour."

"Good." Shadow nodded. "Go help the soldiers. They appear to listen to you."

"I'll see if any of them are good enough for helping the search effort."

"Head back to Beacon once you are done."

"Affirmative.

:A/N Frogy here. I want to tell you all that we will have the final chapter (the epilogue or chapter 31) and the revised chapters 2-5 done before new years day. Thank you all for reading and see you in 28.

-Shadow out


	28. Chapter 28

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Shadow saw the twenty warships through the window behind Ozpin when he entered his office. For the most part, it was repaired, but the fire and ash had left quite an impression on the walls and floor. As soon as Shadow entered, he saw Ozpin and General Ironwood waiting for him. Both did not have a very satisfying expression.

"Shadow," Ozpin started. "I see you are rested?"

"Yes, I am." Shadow answered. "The fight took a toll on my team and friends, but we are okay."

"Good." Ozpin nodded and clasped his hands together. "You may begin, James."

The general pulled a scroll from his belt and placed on Ozpin's desk, revealing holographic images on a projector.

"Now when my fleet got hit at the beginning of the conflict, we were caught completely by surprise." Ironwood explained. "Two of my airships; cargo and crew, were decimated. Having little option before my ship was shot down, I released as many as I could to get my forces to the ground. Those forces would be cut down to eighteen soldiers by the end of the conflict."

"I counted nineteen." Shadow interrupted. "I was with them in the field."

"Yes, but of the two who were in critical condition to the hospital, one of them did not survive his injuries." Ironwood paused and stared at Shadow. Shadow knew he was furious, but the general kept a professional tone. "You know how many men I've lost?" he asked. "Take a guess."

Shadow didn't answer.

"The _exact_ number of men I lost was four hundred fifty seven." Ironwood stated. "During the search and rescue missions, the bodies of the enemy soldiers were recovered, revealing every single one to be the exact same person. It didn't matter in height, in looks, even down to their _blood cells_. They were the EXACT same. So when I revealed this information to Ozpin, imagine what I thought when he showed me the faces of your comrades?"

"I realize the last time we spoke about this matter, Shadow," Ozpin recalled. "You said you had this situation _under control_."

"I didn't think they'd bring spaceships!" Shadow shot back.

"Who are _they_?" Ironwood asked. "As a matter of fact, who are _you_?"

Shadow took a deep breath and began. He told Ironwood about how he got here, about the Republic he fought for, and his mission. He told him about how he was stuck here without knowing how to get home, and how he made friends, a life. Then he talked about Shash and his 21st Nova squad, and how Designer was there and how Tested came into the mix at Atlas.

"My plan was not to involve everyone." Shadow said. "Shash is from my world. Shash wants _me_. I didn't count on his plan being this big though."

"My special operatives have been trying to figure out who these rumored white and red armored men were for months." Ironwood said. "They had been causing a lot of damage and have been suspected of attacking two convoy transports of weaponry."

"Enough about what happened." Ozpin said. "Now we talk about what to do about it."

"My scouts tell me that the enemy has only two warships." Ironwood explained. "They say they were close enough to be noticed, but they did not encounter any resistance to provide recon."

"Show me the photos." Shadow said.

Ironwood showed the photos through the projector. Shadow recognized those ship's triangular profiles all too well.

"Acclamator-Class Republic Assault Ships." Shadow announced.

"I have twenty warships." Ironwood said. "They may not be as large as the enemy's, but we have the numbers."

"General, all due respect," Shadow commented. "You barely have the firepower to penetrate their armor, much less their shields. They on the other hand have the power to level Vale in a short period of time. If there were three, they could level Vale down to the bedrock with an even shorter amount of time."

Ironwood looked at him in disbelief. "I think you underestimate Atlas."

"They didn't even need to bring their warship in to take out your fleet." Shadow explained. "Your entire fleet was taken out by a trio of bombers. What is a larger ship with much larger guns going to do to your fleet of twenty?"

"I'd listen to Shadow's advice on this, James." Ozpin nodded.

"But what we can't do is nothing." Ironwood shot back. "The people of Vale are scared, terrified. Lives have been lost, and the threat is still present. You know what fear brings in Ozpin. The citizens need to see us act."

"The fear brings the Grimm," Ozpin stated. "I know. But rushing in headstrong is not the best idea. On this matter, we should take advice on someone who knows the enemy, like the back of his hand."

Ozpin and Ironwood looked at Shadow.

"I am certainly willing to help." Shadow said. "I'd like to get my team to recover first."

"As you wish Shadow." Ozpin acknowledged. "Thank you for your time."

"Don't come to us too late." Ironwood said as Shadow entered the elevator.

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

This was not the best day at city was still heavily damaged from the attack that occurred yesterday. The Atlesian military had suffered more than a 90% loss in their troops stationed at Vale.

_Good thing reinforcements arrived_.

The group was alright. The twins along with Tested were out with the girls helping in search and rescue. Designer had gone out to recover any Republic weapons and ammunition they'd need for the inevitable fight than loomed. Jared was the only was in the room looking over their current supply of equipment. They were low on pretty much everything so they'd need that gear Designer was retrieving. Jared was looking over his DC-17M when Shadow entered the room.

"Pissed?" Jared asked, referring to the General and Headmaster.

"Very." Shadow replied.

"D'They grill you?"

"Like a burnt out steak." Shadow sighed. "I told them everything."

Jared looked up at him and stood.

"I thought you didn't want to-"

"It's better they know." Shadow replied. "Gives them more of a reason they lost a lot of people."

There was a moment of silence between the two. Jared, even with his talkative nature remained silent. It was a mix of an awkward feeling and an stressed one.

"Two Acclamator-Class Republic Assault Ships." Shadow said to break the silence. "Two of them."

"To think Shash had planned that all along?" Jared asked.

"I don't know." Shadow sighed. "I never thought he'd go this far."

"It wasn't your fault." Jared placed his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"I know." Shadow nodded. "It's none of our faults. But it is our responsibility."

The two were silent once again for a moment.

"Jared."

"Yes?" Jared replied.

"What happens if we win?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't want to leave." Shadow said firmly. "I feel… like this is my life now."

"You are so fucking corny." Jared chuckled.

Shadow allowed a smile from Jared's joke. "I'm serious though." He continued. "Are you leaving Yang?"

Jared looked straight at Shadow for a solid four seconds, then his gaze dropped to the floor.

"You know the answer."

-Yang 3rd Person POV-

"Don't put your back into it Tested!" GT grunted as he and Tested tried to heave a large chunk of debris away from the entrance of the shop.

"You two seem like you need a hand." Yang chuckled as she joined in.

With her added effort, they moved the debris away from the entrance. GT immediately shined a flashlight inside the nearly collapsed shop.

"Hello?" He called. "Is there anyone there?"

"Building schematics say there is a basement." Tested said as he looked at his datapad and clipped it to his belt. "They may have hid with everything going on outside."

Yang followed them in. The air just smelt like smoke and debris. There were chunks of brick and cement everywhere. The place was a wreck. This building would have to be knocked down and rebuilt. Glenda can rebuild buildings, but she can't bring back worn away material.

"Building's structurally unstable," Tested warned. "Watch out for falling debris."

"Can you find the basement?" GT asked.

Tested pulled out his datapad once more and checked his surroundings. "There." He pointed at one of the corners to the room. There was another chunk of debris on top.

"Must've gotten trapped when the building fell." GT commented.

"I got this." Yang said as she walked over to the chunk and lifted it up. She was strong enough for it. She had lifted heavier things than this. After taking a few steps, she put it down slowly. Yang turned back to see GT opening a hatch in the floor. She couldn't see his face, but by the way his body reacted, it wasn't a good sign.

"Drop it soldier!" GT yelled as he drew his rifle and leveled it down the stairway to the basement.

Yang walked over to see Tested and GT pointing their weapons at three men in similar armor to Tested. The difference was the orange markings they bore. Yang recognized them as the clone soldiers from wherever the guys came from. One of the soldiers had a weapon pointed at a family of three.

"We lost our whole squad." One of the soldiers shot back. He strangely had the exact same voice as Tested. "You'd turn your back on the Republic you swore to protect?"

"You are on the wrong side right now!" GT replied. "You tried to invade this city for no reason! There are innocent civilians here!"

"Every side has innocent civilians." the orange marked trooper said. "That's war. Can you Shadow Troopers not handle that? And I see you too 501st! You think Commander Appo is going to be glad to know that one of his trusted men are working with the enemy?"

"This city was never your enemy." Tested replied. "We've been trapped here with no way home."

"Tell that to Commander Shash!" the trooper sneered. "He's the one who brought us here!"

"Let the civilians go!" GT commanded.

Yang could see a little boy clinging to his mother, who was in turn clinging to her husband, weeping in fear. Regardless, the soldiers had their weapons trained on the hostages and Tested and GT.

"Tested, Shadow said you can shield." GT whispered.

"Something like that." Tested shrugged lightly.

"Shield the civilians. Yang, can you hit them before they hit us?"

"Definitely." Yang replied as her twin golden bracelets morphed into her Ember Cecilias.

Tested slung his weapon and reached his hands out. Oblivious to the light blue transparent shield forming around the family, the soldiers had their weapons leveled, sensing something was about to happen.

"Sorry boys." GT sighed and opened fire. His first shot hit the soldier on the right, the blue bolt burning through his helmet.

Yang fired at the same time, moving her head to avoid two blue projectiles first. The dust round flew and knocked the weapon out of her shooter's hands. GT quickly dispatched him with three shots to his chest. The last one opened fire on the hostages, stopping in confusion of the shield. GT shot him right in the back of the neck.

"Clear." GT called out. "Nice one Tested."

"A few more shots and…" Tested panted. "I need to practice that."

GT gave him a pat on the back and went in to comfort the family.

"Where is Designer?" Yang asked. "I know he's kinda… you know… but shouldn't he be helping?"

"He's out recovering equipment." Tested explained. "Between this battle and the ones previously, we barely have enough ammunition and gear for another. It'll be good to replenish our supply."

"That's more important than helping people?"

"No, but considering the Atlesian Military is going to want to recover the tech, it's best that we take what we can get."

"Wait outside and don't re-enter the building under any circumstance." GT instructed the family as he guided them out. "Atlas soldiers will be here to recover you shortly."

"I see you've gotten all dirty."Yang nudged Tested, commenting on his shiny white and blue armor that now was scratched and powdered with dust, dirt and debris.

"Not as dirty as your mindset with Jared." Tested shot back.

Yang almost got angry, but she slipped into a laugh. "Alright, your first good joke. I'll give you that."

Even with Tested's expression hidden by the fiercely looking black T-visor on his helmet, Yang knew he was probably smiling or showing some kind of form of glee.

"You know, Ruby and Weiss are single."

"Oh please," GT chuckled as he dusted off his gloved hands. "An eleven year old with a fifteen or seventeen year old? Not much of a problem. The eleven year old with a body of a man in his early twenties? That's rape."

"Is TJ with the other two?" Tested asked.

"Yep," GT confirmed. "They're mopping up the southern side of the commercial district. A few buildings got knocked over when Ironwood's ship crashed."

"So what's the plan?" Yang asked.

"Well, Jared said he'd meet us at the edge of the commercial district so we could all clear the area from the Atlesian Airship." GT explained. "We'll continue down the road and meet them there. C'mon, we've got a lot of work to do."

-Designer 3rd Person POV-

Designer dumped a group of fallen DC-15A rifles in his van. He had drove it to an area close to the city center with an attempt to recover useful equipment. He kept the main priority; tibanna gas cartridges, thermal explosives, vibroblades, datapads, and rockets. He also grabbed anything else that could be put to future use; DC-15A rifles, DC-15S Carbines, DC-15X snipers, any additional helmet attachments and bacta. Along the side, he picked up any spare parts he could use to tinker.

"Designer, you there?" Shadow's voice came up on the long range commlink.

"I'm here." Designer replied. "Just recovering gear."

"Anything useful?"

"Lots-"

"-That gives us an edge over the two Acclamator-Class Assault Ships?"

"Whoa," Designer gasped. "Did you say _two_ Acclamators?"

"Affirmative."

Designer paused to think before answering. "As of now, we don't really have crap."

"Your sensors are still in place on the island right?" Shadow asked.

"Yes, but with the scanners aboard those Acclamators, they'll detect them if we try to retrieve data over this distance."

"Then do a full maximum scan." Shadow said. "Don't bother hiding. We need all the intel we can get to pull this off."

"There is still data from the recon mission to scrub through," Designer stated. "But what exactly are we supposed to pull off?"

Shadow didn't say anything, but Designer already knew what he was thinking.

"You're joking, right?"

"What would you have us do Des?" Shadow pointed out. "These are innocent people that haven't done anything to provoke the Republic."

"What you are talking about is _treason_, Shadow."

"I don't seem to recall you having those thoughts when you were killing Republic soldiers."

"That was different and you know that Shadow." Designer shot back. "That was self defense."

"Why did the Republic attack?" Shadow asked.

"Probably Shash." Designer sighed. "We both know he's an asshat."

"What could he have told them that would influence them to attack?"

"Something that involves removing all of our command positions and branding us as traitors I guess."

"Another time," Shadow waved the thought off. "When you finish recovering the gear, bring them to this address."

Designer saw the address icon pop into his HUD.

"Is it secure?"

"It is." Shadow replied.

"Copy that." Designer acknowledged. "See you there. Designer out."

-Ruby 3rd Person POV-

"C'mon little boy!" Ruby motioned.

Ruby was using her Scythe to support the ceiling about to fall onto her and a little boy at the end of the hallway. The boy was sobbing in his own arms, barely paying attention to Ruby.

"C'mon, you have to come out some time." Ruby said nervously, hearing and feeling the shift in the ceiling's integrity.

"I want mommy and daddy!" the boy wailed.

"I'll take you to mommy and daddy if you come out." Ruby tried to convince him. Ruby had a feeling the parents were somewhere inside the collapsed house, still, unmoving,and lifeless. She had to at least get this boy out. "We can have cookies if you come out!"

"Ma'am," An Atlesian soldier came behind her. "The structure is collapsing. You have to get clear."

"There's a little boy in there." Ruby pointed.

The soldier peeked inside, then turned to call some men.

"Lift support over here!" He called. "Anyone, find Goodwitch! Hurry!"

Ruby felt the house start to shift, uncontrollably this time.

"No time!" Ruby yelled.

She could've sworn she heard the soldier try to stop her, but she had already activated her semblance, launching herself through the small opening she had found at high speed, leaving rose petals where she was a moment ago. Then she slowed herself down, just enough to land safely against the opposite wall where the boy sat. The boy looked up at him with surprise, but Ruby didn't give him time to object.

"Hang on!" She exclaimed and launched herself.

Ruby became a flash of red. She could feel the ceiling coming down on her now. She was almost there. She reeled right to avoid a ceiling fan, then left to avoid a chandelier.

_One last push_.

Ruby put all of her strength into the last lunge, just barely making it out in time. She reached out with her hand, grabbing Crescent Rose on the way. Just as she got out, something caught her by the neck, pulling her back in. She looked up and saw the ceiling coming down. She shut her eyes.

_Crush_.

All of a sudden, the familiar voice of Weiss came out.

"Ruby!" She said. "Ruby get up!"

Ruby opened her eyes, seeing a wall of ice between her and the ceiling. She looked towards the outside and saw Weiss, with Myrtenaster stabbed straight into the ground, ice protruding from the impact point and into the ceiling.

"Ruby!" Weiss called again.

"I'm fine!" Ruby replied.

Weiss came closer to her. The soldier came by and picked the little boy up. Weiss struck her weapon at Ruby's cape, which she discovered had caught onto an exposed piece of debris.

"That's why capes suck." Weiss joked.

"I like my hood." Ruby shot back, inspecting the torn fabric.

"That's twice I've had to save you because of that." Weiss helped her up.

Ruby got to her feet and looked over at the little boy, being carried away by a soldier. Another group of Atlesian soldiers came in right after.

"Were there others in the building?" One of the soldiers asked.

"I don't know." Ruby replied. "I only found the boy."

"Scan for life signs and start digging!" One of the men barked. "We'll handle this."

Ruby nodded then went off with Weiss.

"The Atlesian Military lost a lot of men." Weiss said. "Just hearing around between the soldiers, those white armored men from Shadow's world didn't leave many of them standing."

"What was that you mentioned about technological advances?" Ruby teased.

"Not funny." Weiss frowned.

"Sorry." Ruby apologized. Atlas's Military had lost a lot of people. A lot of citizens. A lot of lives. "Hey, did you notice that they all kinda sounded like Tested?"

"Didn't Tested say their entire army were clones?"

"Yeah." Ruby sighed. "Where is everyone else?"

"Shadow and Jared just arrived in town square." Weiss explained. "Jared went off the meet Yang, Tested and GT while Shadow stuck with Blake and TJ."

"Where's Designer?"

"Who knows." Weiss shrugged. "But Shadow wants us all to meet up somewhere later in the evening."

"Where?"

"He said he'd send us a location eventually."

"Well that's very helpful."

"Let's focus on helping with the damage right now." Weiss suggested.

"Agreed."

-Shash 3rd Person POV-

"Get those AA batteries set up faster!" Shash barked at a crew of gunners. "We are going to be moving the Venator soon and I'd rather not have our entire base blown to bits by air support!"

"Yes sir!" The clone gunning crew exclaimed in unison.

"Raise that bunker over there!" Shash turned his attention to another platoon. "We want to hit them as soon as they expose themselves in the water. Not after."

A beeping and a notification on his HUD caught his attention. The Marshal Commander wanted a status report. Shash ignored it for now.

"Keep the defences in areas where we can draw the enemy out!" Shash said his final command before communicating with his Nova ARCs. "Detta, status?"

"Monitoring Atlesian Military communications." Detta replied. By the way he sounded, Shash knew the assassin was biting his lip. "I'm getting nothing."

"Then they've found a way to block us." Shash stated. "Anything else?"

"Yes, _buir_," Detta explained. "I'm picking up some form of transmission emanating from our base and transmitting all the way to Vale." Detta seemed to gasp. "It just spiked. I can locate the source."

"Investigate." Shash ordered. "Shadow may have left us a gift the last time he was here."

"Understood, _buir."_ Detta acknowledged. "I'll get right on it."

Shash switched the link to the other Nova.

"Seoul, status?"

"Helping train the White Fang with actual Military tactics." Seoul said in an annoyed tone. "They aren't anywhere near the quality of our men."

"Weapons?"

"Enough to supply the White Fang regiments," Seoul replied, then added. "Except for the tanks. Not enough armored support for them. They'll just have to use what Paladins they have left."

"Good enough." Shash sighed. "How are we integrating them?"

"I'll leave that to the Marshal." Seoul replied.

"Understood. Shash out."

That same notification popped up again on his HUD. Shash acknowledged it and headed towards the main command center of the base. As he crossed each corridor, he noticed the blaster marks from the nights before. Instead of finding White Fang soldiers manning stations at the Command Center, he found Clones, much to his chagrin.

The first clone to see him had his legs spaz out and jolt him upright. "Commander on deck!" He barked, and the other clones turned towards Shash and stood at attention in the blink of an eye.

"At ease." Shash commanded.

"Sir, Marshal Commander Felwinter wishes to speak with you." The lead clone said.

"Yes, I received the notification," Shash nodded. "Put him through."

As the clones continued their tasks, a blue hologram of the Marshal Commander appeared in the middle of the room.

"Commander Shash," Felwinter greeted in a curtsy nod. "What is the situation on the ground?"

"We've been integrating the White Fang into the Republic Regiments and fortifying the island with the newly arrived Republic armory." Shash explained. "Integration with the locals is proving more difficult."

"What of the enemy?"

"The enemy forces have found a way to block is from listening in on their communications." Shash replied.

"Take as much time as you need with the locals," Felwinter said. "But keep in mind that we should move onto Vale again."

"Understood sir." Shash nodded. "Everything will be readied as soon as possible."

"Good." Felwinter replied. "Up here, we are ready for an invasion."

"Good to hear on that end." Shash commented.

"Take the time you think you need Commander. Just don't take too long. Felwinter out."

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Shadow was looking through the gear Designer brought into the building. They had plenty of supplies now. Now they could fight without holding back. Shadow noticed something on his motion tracker. He had left his hood on by accident, and noticed the small blip nearby. Shadow sighed in relief when he realized who is was.

"It's rude to lurk in the shadows Designer." Shadow said aloud and turned around. A few moments later, Designer's form shifted out of thin air.

"Damn, I did well on that motion tracker." Designer chuckled.

"Good work on the gear."

"Of course it was good work." Designer waved him off. "Now what is this place?" he asked.

The building they were in was an abandoned building, one with a secret basement, where the two were in right now. He decided to leave the main priority underground.

"This was meant to be a storage facility for any Republic issue weapons or gear from our world." Shadow explained. "Nova armor, weapons, our fallen comrades gear…" Shadow named a few examples. "It became a safe house, and now… maybe a base for us."

"Not bad." Designer nodded. "Good build, easy to defend. Nice place. Only issue I have is that it is in a considerably populated location, rather than the quiet side where my base was."

"I'll work on a cover later." Shadow assured.

"Cover for what?" Tested entered, descending down the steps.

"Tested," Shadow gave a curtsy nod. "Glad you came early."

"What did you need me for?" Tested asked.

"Designer, can you give us the room?" Shadow said as he slid his hood off.

Designer looked at Tested, then looked at Shadow. He shrugged and nodded. "Knock yourselves out." He said as he ascended up the stairs to exit the hideout.

"So what did you need to talk about?" Tested asked.

"Designer brought something up about a week ago," Shadow explained. "I ignored it as I didn't think there was a way back."

"I don't understand." Tested seemed confused.

"For a few months, my team and I have been stranded here, not having any way back to the Republic, or so we thought." Shadow continued. "Regardless of the fact that we have a way back to our old home, I feel I have made a home here."

Tested's expression was almost blank. Shadow didn't blame him. He was talking about going AWOL.

"Who else knows of this?" Tested asked suspiciously.

"I talked to Jared about this earlier," Shadow explained. "He's planning on doing the same. GT, TJ and Designer are staying, as they are branded traitors anyway. The only person who does have a way home, is _you_." Shadow paused to let that sink in. "So, my question is, do you want to go home after this is over? I will not stop you. You saved my life in Atlas, and have been fighting alongside us since. While I would value your presence here, I respect your decision if you wish to go home."

Tested took a deep breath before replying.

"You've been one to save my life a few times as well Shadow." Tested stated. "But, being a soldier is all I know. I swore an oath when I was capable of speaking as a Cadet. Serving the Republic is all I know. I want to go back."

"Understood." Shadow gave Tested a pat on the shoulder. "Regardless of that though, I feel that I need to give you something."

Shadow walked over to a sealed bin, grabbing it and sliding it over to Tested. He waited for Tested to open it to see his reaction. Tested's eyes went wide as soon as he saw the bin's contents. At the top of the bin, he pulled out the helmet of the fallen Shadow Trooper Titus. Shadow had a second or two of mourning for the young rookie that had passed, then focused back on Tested.

"Titus was a completely regular clone recruited into SBH," Shadow said. "The armor should fit you perfectly."

"I can't wear a dead man's armor." Tested shook his head.

"Tested, from the way you performed in your time here, you've earned it. Granted you can't take that armor back with you, but in this time between now and our victory, you're one of us. Besides, we don't want you being recognized in your 501st attire should there be any escapees now would we?"

Tested nodded, then reached for the DC-17M rifle tucked into the side. He inspected the weapon thoroughly, and after making sure the safety was on, he handled the weapon, practicing aiming down sights.

"Different from my DP23, or the DC-15S." Tested commented. "Weaker they say?"

"Not with our ammunition." Shadow assured. "Our tibanna mixed with dust makes our shots a bit stronger than the 15A on its highest charge."

Tested placed the weapon and helmet back into the bin neatly.

"Excuse the formalities this time," Tested said. "But thank you, sir. It's an honor."

Shadow allowed the gesture and returned the salute. "You've earned it." He nodded. "Now, armor up. We've gotta head back to Beacon to talk about something."

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

"Grab everything you need." Jared said. "Which in everyone's case, should be everything."

Jared knew what was going to happen. According to Designer's scans of the island, the Third Systems Army did not have the men to take the entire planet, but they were capable of holding the continent of Vale if they took it. They were still organizing themselves and preparing for assault. If there was any time to hit them, it was now.

"We've got about seven magazines left for our Deeces." GT called out. "Three for our sidearms."

"Shadow gave Designer the mixture formula to make more Tibanna dust ammunition." Jared assured. "With what we recovered from the battle and between how fast Designer works, we'll have enough."

"We'll need to stop by Shadow's hideout for more armnants." TJ stated.

"Noted." Jared replied. "You girls have enough dust ammunition?" he asked team RWBY.

Yang dumped a medium sized box of dust shells onto her bed. Ruby had a box of clips for her Sniper Scythe, Blake had a box of smaller clips for Gambol Shroud's built in pistol, and Weiss had her bottles of raw dust.

"Do you even have to ask?" Yang joked as she started filling up her pouches.

"Touché." Jared chuckled.

Jared looked up at the door to see Shadow walk in.

"Hey!" He called. "Did you talk to Ozpin yet?"

Shadow turned towards him, then ignored him.

"Hey! Did you lose your hearing without me noticing?"

Then Jared realized Shadow didn't wear a helmet anymore. Shadow also wore a dark red Pauldron and a kama, something this Shadow Trooper lacked.

"It's me Jared." The SBH removed his helmet. "It's Tested."

"Oh, shit, jeez." Jared was kinda startled.

"I hope this doesn't bring back memories of your fallen squadmate." Tested kind of slouched in guilt.

"It's fine." Jared waved off the subject. "Where is Shadow?"

"Talking to Ozpin." Tested answered.

"Alright then. Grab what you need from this room. I suggest you take everything that can kill something."

"Copy that." Tested nodded, then went about his task.

Jared went over to TJ, satisfied with his gear.

"Hey, you ready?" Jared asked.

"Combat webbing would be useful." TJ frowned. "Sent a text to Designer about it. It's a lot of important gear to leave to a backpack."

"Well, we were geared for an investigation OP with moderate resistance, not a full scale battle." Jared pointed out.

"And look at us now." TJ chuckled and shook his head.

"Hey, TJ," Jared lowered his voice. "Shadow and I… well… we aren't going back to the Republic."

"Can't blame you." TJ replied in an understanding tone.

"My question is what you plan on doing." Jared pushed on.

"GT and I are obviously staying." TJ answered.

"Not much of a choice anyway." GT piped in, overhearing the two. "I'm pretty sure those Republic soldiers identified us perfectly, and by the way they reacted, I'd bet we are marked for death."

"Shash just loves us, doesn't he?" GT joked.

"Glad to hear you are staying with us." Jared smiled.

"We're ready." The voice of Ruby interrupted.

Team RWBY stood facing Jared with their weapons readied.

"I believe some serious payback is in order." Weiss said.

"Justice for the people lost." Blake added.

Yang cycled the chamber on her twin Ember Cecilias and cocked them. "Let's kick some ass." She said in a challenging tone.

"Wait outside in the courtyard." Jared stated. "The Twins and I are going to drop by Shadow's hideout to pick up Designer and his gear. Shadow will be with you when he is done with Ozpin.

-Ozpin 3rd Person POV-

"James, rushing in with your twenty warships, no matter how fast you maneuver them or flank, it won't work."

"We can't wait for the next array of reinforcements." The General replied. "The enemy is already mobilizing their forces for the next attack, one which your student, Shadow, claims it will demolish us. By the time extra support arrives, it could already be too late."

"Agreed, but slow down." Ozpin tried to calm him. "Think this through further. You need a better plan."

"Time is running out Ozpin."

"And it will run out faster if you decide to leap right into it." Ozpin shot back. "Sometimes plans require you taking a few steps back."

"And sometimes it just takes the will to jump."

"You're right, General." The voice of Shadow emerged as soon as the elevator doors slid open. He wore his regular dark black armor. "Time is running short. But Ozpin is right as well. You need a plan."

Shadow walked up to the table and plugged his scroll into Ozpin's projector, creating a hologram of the island.

"My friend ran a deep scan of the island." Shadow explained. "Acclamator-Class Republic Assault Ships holding about half a kilometer above the highest point. Not enough room to land." Shadow magnified the hologram to the beaches. "Forget the warships, Anti Air gun emplacements all just behind the treeline. Bunkers set up on the beaches. Staging area is within the main base, which is heavily defended with more bunker set ups and gunship squares. Tanks will be close by the beach, but there is another division of them within the base." Shadow paused to let the General observe the scan. "Long story short General, even if you guys survive the warships at long range, your deployment craft are getting shot down. Even if they get past that, they are getting mowed down by highly trained soldiers."

"I suppose you came with something else other than just telling me how doomed we are." Ironwood scoffed.

"Well, in fact I do have a plan." Shadow stated. "My team is ready to help. Some student volunteers would be useful though."

"Useful for what?" Ozpin asked curiously.

"Alright," Shadow began. "This is the plan."

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

The plan was ready to move. What they needed now, was the motivation. As Shadow exited Ozpin's tower into the main courtyard. He saw students in commotion. Regardless of how secretive the General tried to keep the possible threat of another attack, rumors spread fast.

"_Just a fraction of their attack force took out Ironwood's army."_ One of them said.

"They are going to attack us again, and this time we won't survive." Another added. "We aren't a match for their firepower!"

The fear and negativity of an attack would just make the situation worse, as the vile creatures of the world, the Grimm would be drawn to its energy. They fed off this energy floating in the air right now.

Shadow needed two things; student volunteers, and this negative energy to die down. After walking into the center of the crowd of students, he drew his DC-17B sidearm and fired a trio of rounds into the air. The students went silent, a few of them equipping their weapons in fear.

"That's about enough from you lot!" Shadow barked, waiting until the crowd became statues. "You are one of the most talented groups of individuals I have ever had to privilege to fight with. You all are strong, skilled, and brave. As I look upon you all however, I see fear, cowardliness, and hopelessness. You all are the protectors of Vale and not only that but the entire planet of Remnant. I have had to fight fleets of hundreds with only a few ships. I had to blow up an entire space station full of droids hell bent on killing people and my old home. I had to overcome myself. Did I give up or fall into hopelessness? Did I hesitate to question what I had to do or coward down from it? The answer to that question is I did not. I took them all on head on. The planet of Remnant needs you in its darkest hour yet as Shash prepares to throw whatever he has left at us. You must be vigilant, brave, and most importantly you must be ready to face death for your world. When I was in the Republic I was ready to die for it. However, the Republic is now what I wish to see dead and I would rather die for Remnant, my new home, with new friends and family."

Shadow paused a moment to catch his breath. The fear of the students faded away, followed by a will, a will to stop the Republic for what they have done to their fellow comrades and to the beloved city of theirs. Shadow spoke once more.

"You all are now ready. Prepare for the battle that is about to come and remember that you will be held with high honor for embarking on this dangerous mission. This is a game of us or them. I would rather see us beat them. So prepare for the plan, and do not forget that you mustn't back down from a threat larger than you can handle. Don't try to overpower your prey as a hunter or huntress. Instead, you need to outsmart a more powerful opponent in order to take them down. You must do the impossible. So let me ask you this question. Are you ready to take back your city and planet?" 

"Yeah!" The crowd yelled in unison.

"Are you going to let them take your home again?!" Shadow yelled.

"No!" The crowed responded, louder than before.

"Then show me!" Shadow stated. "Show the people of Vale. Show the enemy what we are capable of, because we aren't going to wait for them to hit us again! Are we?!"

"No!" The crowd repeated.

"Today!" Shadow yelled at the top of his lungs. "Today we take the battle to them!"

The students cheered, reaching a state where Shadow felt his eardrums breaking down. Shadow scanned every single face he could find, and he knew, they were ready for what was coming. They were ready to beat Shash.

"All those of you willing fight, head over to the CCT to register!"

-Shash 3rd Person POV-

Shash was overlooking the deployment of several AT-TE walkers. The LAAT/c swept low, carrying the tanks in a large, open area where normally in an LAAT/i a cargo bay was built. The quartet of LAAT/c's slowly stopped, then descended, making sure the AT-TE's legs made full contact with the ground. The clamps holding the walkers into the gunships released, and the LAAT/c's flew back to their Acclamator. The island was being used as a staging ground, but it was a shame there wasn't enough room for the large warships to land. This would make unloading much easier.

"Shash!" an angry voice came from behind him. He recognized it all too well.

Shash turned around, seeing an angry Roman Torchwick stomping towards him. Shash didn't want to deal with him right now, not so close to the end. Regardless, if Torchwick did retaliate with the White Fang, they wouldn't make it off this island alive. Shash collected a professional posture and tone.

"Mr. Torchwick, you have a question?" He asked.

"I want to know why I am being locked out of my own base." Torchwick growled.

"_Your_ base?" Shash noted his wording.

"_My_ base." Torchwick repeated. "This island is property of the White Fang, guess who the White Fang works for right now."

"I see you have… missed a lot." Shash searched for the correct set of words to calm down. "Where have you been?"

"Intercepting a train." Torchwick replied. "We just stopped a cache of Dust ammunition from reaching its destination. So imagine my surprise to once again return to a previously White Fang controlled establishment, and find two men in white armor, waving me off."

"You see Roman," Shash smirked under his helmet. "The key word in that statement, is _previously_. It was _previously_ a White Fang controlled establishment. It belongs to the Republic now."

"We had a deal, Shash." Roman stood firm.

"Oh, well," Shash scoffed. "Do you feel that I have not lived up to my end of the bargain?"

"You promised me money," Torchwick stated. "Riches, wealth."

"I promised you power!" Shash took a step right up to Roman. The two may have been about the same height, but the way Shash stood with the bulk of his armor, he knew he was a menacing figure. "I promised that Vale would be taken."

"You promised Vale for me." Torchwick corrected. "It is mine-"

"Not anymore," Shash cut him off. "Vale will be an example to the other kingdoms. By two days, the city of Vale will be nothing but rubble and ash, only good for one thing."

"And what is that?" Roman asked.

Shash let a slight chuckle out of himself, then turned to the moving AT-TEs.

"Graves." Shash answered Roman's question. "I advise you don't give me a reason to have one of my men dig one up for you. Now I have more important business to attend to rather than squabble with you. Good day, Mr. Torchwick."

Shash began to walk towards the staging area for the tanks. Shash was no Jedi, nor did he have powers, but he didn't need them to sense the anger steaming from Roman. There was nothing he could do. It was only the plan now. The plan.

-Yang 3rd Person POV-

Yang was with her team about to board their airship. An duo of Atlesian soldiers were manning it. The students inside were just cargo. Ruby was obviously scanning the craft, just in amazement at how "cool" it looked.

To Yang's surprise, a lot more students volunteered than expected. The attack on the city must have made it personal. Yang had the same feeling. She caught sight of Jared along with the twins coordinating some students and soldiers into dropships. Yang was actually a bit surprised to see them listen. She hadn't seen Jared command soldiers before, yet with his rank within his military, she could see why he had it. After Jared pointed at another dropship and made a few hand gestures, along with a few orders inaudible to Yang, the soldiers he was talking to mobilized and the small group of students moved towards Yang's direction. As Jared and the twins started moving towards their dropship, Jared noticed Yang. Yang waved at him with a smile. Jared has his helmet on, but she knew he was probably smiling back.

"You two go ahead. I'll catch up." Yang barely heard Jared say to GT and TJ.

The twins nodded and proceeded, while Jared walked towards Yang, removing his helmet when he arrived.

"You and the girls ready?" Jared asked.

"Blake is waiting for Shadow." Yang replied. "Weiss is educating Ruby on the dropship."

"Tested's with them?"

"Just showing up Weiss with his superior combat gear." Yang rolled her eyes. "I don't know about you, but I'll take my Ember Cecilia over your DS-50N rifle."

"DC-17M Interchangeable weapons system." Jared corrected. "One with a sniper mode, an assault rifle, and an anti armor mode. I can hit you from far away, I can hit you close, and I can hit you _hard_."

"I know that bit already." Yang smirked and slipped her arms around his neck.

"Not intended to be that type of joke," Jared chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "But I'll go with it."

"Be careful out there." Yang switched to a worried tone.

"Hey, it's really you that has the harder job on the ground." Jared pointed out. "If anything, I should be worried. I am by the way."

"I'll be fine." Yang promised.

Yang leaned in to kiss him but something forced Jared into her. Jared turned back to scowl at Designer who has just given him a hard slap on the back.

"Get to your ship, Major," Designer ordered with humor to his tone. "Dust off in twenty."

"Fuck off." Jared shot back rolling his eyes.

Designer just went into the cargo bay laughing.

"Where was I?" Jared turned back to Yang.

Yang leaned in and the two had a long passionate kiss.

"Stay safe, J-man." Yang teased.

"As to you, little miss blondie." Jared chuckled, then left to go to his dropship.

-Blake 3rd Person POV-

"Well, you didn't have to wait for me." Shadow said to Blake who was waiting in the courtyard.

"Felt it was necessary." Blake replied.

Shadow was a lot more bulkier than normal. Other than his usual load out, with his Dark Sword, his rifle, and dual sidearms, he wore combat webbing, having a DC-15S strapped to his chest and a Vibroblade on his lower abdomen. Around it, he more dozens of ammunition magazines via bandolier style.

"Are you ready?"

"As much as I can be."

"That's good enough." Shadow nodded. "Is everyone else at the dropship?"

"Yes." Blake nodded.

"Good. Let's go."

"Nice speech by the way." Blake remarked as they made their way to the waiting dropship.

"I felt something was needed to make them ready to fight." Shadow explained. "I think we will be losing a lot of men."

"Your plan is going to work, isn't it?" Blake asked.

"It's the best plan we can come up with." Shadow replied. "But one standard clone soldier is worth two, maybe three of Ironwood's men, forget about firepower."

"Shash and his Nova are still out there as well." Blake added.

"Still got a score to settle with Seoul?" Shadow asked.

"Definitely." Blake replied.

"We will probably be separated when we deploy," Shadow mentioned. "So this is pretty much the only time we'll have alone for now. I don't know, but I've got a few words."

"And what are they?" Blake leaned on Shadow.

"You are the most important person in my life." Shadow began, looking deeply into her eyes. "All my life, all I have done is fight for a cause. But ever since I arrived on Remnant, for the first time, I fought for something else, as I am also doing right now. Yes, I fought for my team, I fought for innocents, but I want you to know, I'm fighting for you too. I want you to know how much of an impact you've made on me." Shadow paused before saying, "I want you to remember how much I care for you."

-Felwinter 3rd Person POV-

Marshal Commander Felwinter stood aboard the bridge of the Acclamator _Tiphmeister_ bridge. The island was fortified and the battalions of clone soldiers were ready for their next attack on Vale. He had one more Airborne Company left.

This time, he would fight smarter than last time. This time, the warships would be doing orbital bombardment over the commercial and industrial districts, with the Y-Wings hitting other targets, such as the so called Hunters and Huntresses schools. Such warriors fought with a power that Shash explained was almost close enough to a Jedi. It would be wise to remove them from the battlefield as a convenience to the infantry.

"Sir!" One clone technician called out. "Contacts!"

"Where?" Felwinter walked over to the holotable. The table projected a hologram of them, the island, the ocean, and the enemy contacts.

"Twenty enemy warships sir, straight from Vale's direction," The technician explained. "Holding position just outside the kill zone. Shall we move in to engage?"

"Run a deep scan," Felwinter ordered. "Are we detecting any flanking enemy craft?"

"Nothing around us sir."

Felwinter grabbed a communicator to make contact with Shash.

"Commander Shash, there are enemy warships holding position out of our firing range," Felwinter explained. "It looks large enough to be their main attack force. We are moving to engage."

"Copy that." Shash replied. We've got enough AA support to make their eyes water down here. One of my ARCs are still on your ship."

"Would you like me to send him down to you?" Felwinter asked.

"Negative." Shash replied. "Keep him in reserve in case something goes wrong."

"Understood. Felwinter out." Felwinter shut the channel. "Trooper, status on the _Caleb_?" He asked, referencing the other Acclamator.

"The _Caleb_ is ready for assault." The trooper replied.

"Full forward." Felwinter ordered. "Hit the enemy as soon as we are in range. Launch all fighters immediately."

Felwinter felt the ship engines rumble through the deck as it picked up speed. The bridge exploded in comm chatter as fighters began deploying through the main hangers. The technicians ran their stations like there was no tomorrow. The ship was running at peak efficiency. The enemy would be crushed, this time, once and for all.

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Shadow was at the cockpit of the dropship, talking to the pilots.

"Try not to drop too low." Shadow advised. "Their long range scanners are very strong. Our luck revolves around them not looking our way."

"If we go too high, the dust propulsion systems will fail." One of the pilots said.

"Then don't go too high, and don't drift too low." Shadow replied.

"Hey, you," The copilot called to Shadow. "Drop off in five minutes. Get them ready back there."

"Copy that." Shadow nodded, then went back into the cargo bay.

All the students within this dropship were all ready. Designer handed out the oxygen packs for the drop. It wasn't going to be a shortfall. Blake nudged him from the side and gave him an oxygen pack. Shadow realized he didn't have his helmet. He slipped the mask over his head to adjust it to his head and tied the oxygen supply to his webbing. Then he removed the mask and nodded at Blake. She leaned in and gave him a quick kiss before returning to her team.

Shadow made his way to Designer. He and Tested were putting in the jet packs recovered from the battle of Vale. Designer looked up at Shadow.

"Hey, not all of us have a landing strategy." Designer explained.

"If you had a landing strategy, you'd still need that jet pack." Shadow replied, noting Designer's gear.

Designer was going heavy. His silenced weapons had been left at the storage facility, instead carrying a DC-15A, a DC-15X, a vibrosword and an RPS rocket launcher strapped to his back, two DC-15S's strapped to his thighs, a pair of DC-17B sidearms holstered in his chestplate, with two vibroblades, and tons of ammunition strapped everywhere else. On top of that, he carried two Z6 rotary Blaster cannons, holding one in each arm.

"Not like we are fighting with stealth." Designer replied. "You're bulked up too."

"Yes, but at least I can move."

"Oh, just watch me move on that battlefield, Shadow." Designer said as he slipped his helmet on and sealed it. "Just watch me."

"We are going in hot down there, aren't we?" Tested asked.

"Affirmative." Shadow nodded. "Nice load out." He looked at Tested's gear.

Tested had his newly acquired DC-17M strapped to his chest in his webbing with a vibroblade attached to the back of his belt. He had DC-15S carbine clipped to his hip, a DC-17B sidearm, and his DP23 magnetized to his back. Designer had wanted to test out his magnetized packs for weapons. Like Shadow, Tested also carried ammunition everywhere along his webbing like a bandolier.

"Get everyone ready to drop." Shadow said to Designer and Tested. "We have about two minutes left."

As soon as Shadow made way back to the cockpit, he heard Designer barking orders to the students.

"Pilot, status?" Shadow asked.

"A minute thirty." One of them replied. "Incoming transmission. It's from Ironwood."

The pilot put it through and Ironwood's voice came through the radio system.

"Shadow, you and your team are patched into the main combat channel." Ironwood said. "Do not communicate over it unless it is an emergency, but you can use it to check our status."

"What's the story down there?" Shadow asked.

"The enemy warships are moving to engage us, just as planned." Ironwood explained. "Their small attack craft are going to reach us first."

"Do your best for now, General." Shadow replied. "I'm contacting Jared right now. Shadow out."

Shadow switched the link to Jared's dropship.

"Jared, you and the twins ready?" Shadow asked.

"Affirmative," Jared replied. "Armed to the teeth."

"The Acclamators are moving. Don't forget to correct your course."

"Copy that. Happy landings Shadow."

"Till we meet again Jared." Shadow said farewell as he shut the link.

"Twenty seconds till the drop." The copilot mentioned. "Good luck."

Shadow nodded, then made his way down to the rear of the cargo bay. A red light was the only thing keeping the chamber from darkness. The students were lined up and ready. Shadow went to the front with Designer and Tested. He slipped on his oxygen mask and activated the oxygen supply.

"Red light! Stand by!" Designer shouted over the opening of the cargo bay door.

As soon as the light flashed green, Designer yelled, "Green light! Go go go!"

Shadow was first off, already feeling himself fall. The battle had begun.

Frogy and Tested here, 29 and 30 will be coming out around the same time and the epilogue shortly after. After the epilogue chapters 2-5 will be redone. Thank you for supporting this book and keep reading! – Shadow out.


	29. Chapter 29

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

_Fall_.

The feeling Shadow had from skydiving was just weightlessness, something he was trained to withstand. Feeling around with his aura, he sensed Designer and Tested on his flanks, along with the rest of the students spreading out across the sky. Shadow plunged through the clouds, feeling the moisture built up run past his face. After passing them, he caught sight of the battle. It had just begun. The Atlesian warships were still out of range from the Acclamators, but the fighters had reached them by now. The air rushing past Shadow didn't allow him to utilize his HUD, but he could see the explosions from here. The Atlesian airships, along with their fighters working together, appeared to be able to at least fend off the small Republic attack craft. The real problem would be when the Acclamators came into range. A dozen rounds from the heavy turbo lasers would gut an Atlesian reached for his earpiece and turned it on.

"You two seeing this?" Shadow said over the commlink to Designer and Tested.

"Ironwood's certainly got them distracted." Designer noted.

"We are not done yet," Tested warned. "Those AA guns will spot us soon in this daylight."

Shadow whirled himself away as soon as he saw a pulse from ground.

"Spoke too late!" Tested apologized.

Shadow switched his commlink channel to the students.

"Evasive maneuvers!" Shadow cried. "Don't bunch up! Keep your aura energy focused completely to your front. There may be a chance that you can deflect a round or two."

"Well what about us?!" Designer pointed out, referencing Tested as well..

"Tested, shield! Designer, don't get hit."

"Lovely " Designer sighed.

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

Jared's dropship had been separate from Shadow's group. It had been following one of the Acclamators. Jared's HUD identified the warship they followed on the Republic database as the _Tiphmeister_. The three were already falling, bulked up with weapons for war. Because the Frigate moved so fast, Jared and the twins wore jet packs, having to correct their course more than once. Jared eyed his tactical information, displaying his altitude.

"Thirty thousand meters." Jared called out over the commlink.

"Copy that." TJ acknowledged.

"Hell of a fight Atlas is putting up right now." GT commented on the battle around the Atlesian Airships.

"Heads up, target in sight." Jared aimed himself at one of the Acclamators. The Acclamator Class Frigates

"It's going too fast!" GT cried.

"Target that top hangar!" Jared ordered, placing a target on his HUD and linking it to the twins. The top hangar of the ship was releasing the Republic fighters into combat.

"Not enough room to slow our entry!" GT pointed out. "We'll be hitting them splat."

"Hang on GT!" Jared waved him off.

"We gotta course correct or we'll miss it!" TJ informed.

"Hang on!" Jared repeated.

There was only one way to come through that door and still have enough time to slow yourself from hitting the deck at terminal velocity. They had to come at an angle. The were off course right now, but they just needed to get a bit lower.

"Steady, steady," Jared halted the twins. "Now! Course correct now! Full throttle!"

Jared felt his body zoom into an arc, more and more, slowly edging just into the hangar door.

_Almost, almost, there!_

Jared spread his arms right out and forced his feet below him, combined with the protection of his aura and the repelling force of his jet pack, he smashed the deck, feeling a slight shudder. There were two more impacts as the other two landed on his flanks.

Jared looked up, seeing a clone technician stare at him in surprise and fear. Jared quickly drew his DC-17M, shooting him right in the chest before he could scream. Regardless, the sound of the shot rang clean. Other soldiers turned their attention to Jared and the twins. It didn't matter. With Jared, GT and TJ together, most of them were downed before they realized what was happening.

Jared primed two thermals detonators, tossing them into a cluster of fighters. The blast engulfed all craft within range, including the clones nearby.

"Reactor room!" Jared said as he shot down three orange marked clones before they could raise their rifles. "Let's move!"

-Tested 3rd Person POV-

Tested slowed his descent, just as he passed through a treeline, feeling the ground reassuringly make contact with his boots. Tested immediately unclipped the jet pack and grabbed his DC-15A rifle, scoping the area. He kept his channel on the link with the students.

"Tested on ground." He reported.

Throughout the radio chatter he heard multiple voices calling out that they've dropped.

Tested continued through the trees, reaching an array of anti air guns. He magnetized his DC-15A rifle to his back and equipped his DC-17M from his chest, removing the standard assault rifle cover and slipping on the heavy ion sniper rifle attachment. He popped the stock back and flicked the scope on, lining it with his HUD. There was an array of five guns, each with one pilot. On top of that, each anti air gun had two sentry troops, guarding them.

Staying within the trees, he primed a thermal detonator and threw it as hard as he could at the closest the cannons. He scoped the furthest, and shot the gunner right in the head. There was no scream when he went limp. The sentries did not notice. Tested had enough time to move onto killing another gunner before the thermal went off. The explosion devoured the gun, the remains of it falling into the one next to it. The remaining soldiers turned to engage Tested. Blue bolts zipped through the trees around him, Tested crouched low to avoid the rounds.

All of a sudden, gunfire came from the opposite side of the troopers. None of the rounds were kill shots, rather stunning or dispersing the clones. The figure of Weiss came into view as she zoomed by the troops, freezing them from the waist down. Ruby came behind her right after, twirling her Scythe and only hitting the clones by the flat of her blade. She twirled as she was a red blur, sending the soldiers flying. The last anti air gun was taken out by Weiss, as she froze the legs and struck right through them, toppling the cannon. The gunner was about to get up, but Tested already had his sights on him. With one pull of the trigger, he was dead.

Tested waved over to Weiss and Ruby, letting them come over to him.

"Where is everyone else?" Tested asked.

"We dropped close to the south of the island." Weiss explained.

"We saw Blake and Yang go close to the main base." Ruby added.

Tested switched his DC-17M into its assault rifle mode and strapped it to his chest again. "That's where we are going." He said as he shouldered his DC-15A. "Let's move. We can take out as many Anti Air cannons on the way to take the pressure off the pilots."

-CT-6457 3rd Person POV-

"She's somewhere here!" CT-6457 yelled to his comrades.

While the Acclamators engaged the enemy warships, they had to deal with the ones that had dropped to the ground. They couldn't let them reach the staging grounds, but they were silent. Very silent. CT-6457 felt the presence of his five other squadmates behind him. He leveled his DC-15S and took point into the trees.

The six men moved in a tight formation, covering all sides as they pushed forward. They had spotted one of the enemies landing near the trees. The had to be here, somewhere.

"Right side!" someone on his right shouted as he opened fire. CT-6457 whirled to his right and took aim at the unknown figure. It disappeared as soon as their shots makes contact.

"Here! On the left!" Another soldier called out.

The soldiers fired again, another figure disappearing as their shots made contact.

"57, watch out!"

CT-6457 turned to his front, catching sight of a female with black hair. He didn't have time to aim, as his legs were thrown up into the air as she swept herself under him. 57 met the ground back first. He heard combat around him, as his comrades engaging the female. He rolled over onto his front side and got up, firing immediately at her. She whirled around, and faced his shots, disappearing as soon as the shots hit. 57 scanned all around him, searching for her. A slight crack of a twig tugged his aim into a group of bushes. Then something hit him, at the back of the neck, hard. His vision went blurry as he dropped to his knees. He struggled to stay awake.

_Thud_!

-Blake 3rd Person POV-

Blake looked down at the six clone soldiers she had incapacitated. They made a mistake following her into the trees.

"Blake, on the ground." Blake said into her earpiece, confirming her landing.

"Hold it right there!" Another voice of a clone cried out.

Blake turned and saw eight more troopers taking aim at her.

"Get down!" Another clone yelled.

Regardless, Blake obeyed, ducking quickly where she stood. She looked up, seeing a storm of blue bolts hail onto the clones. A few of them cracked a few shots back, but all eight were dead in seconds. Blake turned around, seeing Designer standing there, holding one of his chain guns.

"You know what?" he said as he lowered it and scanned the area around him. "Gotta love the Z-6."

"Did you see anyone else?" Blake asked Designer.

"Negative." Designer replied. "We got spread thin by the AA guns. We'll need to take out as many as we can to clear the skies for the next phase."

"Shadow wanted us meeting near the center of the island."

"Affirmative." Designer acknowledged as he drew one of his pistols holstered to his chest and fired a group of rounds into the forest without looking. Blake turned to see three clones drop dead. "Let's move."

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

"Right corridor!" GT called out as they reached an intersection.

Jared and GT combined their firepower at a group of clones repelling their attack. The clones were downed quickly.

"Check our rear!" TJ warned.

Jared turned to support TJ as another patrol came around. Jared took aim as the lead man, shooting him right in the throat. He sidestepped to avoid a blue bolt flying towards his head and put three rounds into the shooter's chest. TJ had already taken out the last one.

"Reactor room right here!" GT stated. "Slice or bang?"

"Bang." Jared ordered as he saw more and more clones coming from both sides of the corridor. "Hurry!"

"Copy that!" GT replied as he began to set up an explosive charge on the door. "Give me some cover!"

"Take your time!" Jared said sarcastically as he reloaded his weapon. He reached for one of the clips strapped in his webbing. He slapped the magazine right into place, waiting for the charge to read before firing.

Jared held the right side while TJ covered the left. They fired down the corridors, stopping clones right in their paths. They were forced to stop and start taking cover. Jared couldn't keep his side suppressed for long, as they began to concentrate fire on him. Jared ducked, rolled, sidestepped, and threw himself to the sides to evade their fire. Then he just sprayed his rounds in full auto, peppering the oncoming clones with blaster fire. There were a lot of bodies, but there were even more soldiers moving up the corridor now, slowly pushing with their backs to the walls.

"Gah!" TJ grunted as a shot struck the rear of his right shoulder.

Jared turned to see where the shot came from. He recognized the red markings on his armor. Detta wasn't an ARC he would forget. He returned fire, but Detta was not alone, as the clones now had their perfect positions to push up.

TJ still continued fighting, ignoring the pain in his shoulder.

"Reloading!" TJ called out and reloaded his DC-17M.

"GT hand me that detonation solution!" Jared barked.

"I just attached it to the damn door!" GT protested.

"Give it!"

GT sighed and ripped the thermal detonator from the wall, throwing it to Jared. Jared didn't stop firing until his ammunition counter in his HUD read empty. As soon as that red light flashed, he primed and chucked the thermal detonator as hard as he could.

"Get down!" One of the TSA troopers yelled before the explosion.

Jared's side was now in disarray, but TJ's side was pushing, taking advantage of TJ's reload time.

"GT open that door!" Jared commanded.

"I have to set up another-" GT started.

"Now!" Jared cut him off.

"I blow through it or slice the console," GT stated. "Choose!"

TJ sighed and slung his DC-17M. He drew his sword and let it glow blue with flame and energy. Then he stabbed right into the door console, disintegrating it completely when he withdrew.

"That works as well." GT shrugged and drew his weapon, shooting down two patrolling clones within the reactor room.

"Close the door!" Jared yelled as he backed in, firing at the oncoming TSA soldiers getting into point blank range.

TJ slammed the door console button, locking it with a firm metallic hiss.

"Clear!" GT announced as he finished scanning the large, sphere like room.

The reactor room was mainly a large sphere with catwalks in between. The main catwalk was the second lowest one, leading straight to the reactor core. Jared peered up at the upper catwalks, looking for other clones. He didn't bother looking down. There really wasn't much to see other than a seemingly never ending fall. In reality, there was a floor down there, but nothing was bright enough to illuminate it

"You have it GT?" Jared asked.

"Affirmative." GT replied and pulled out their objective from one of his webbing pouches.

It was a small, metal, cylindrical case filled with the most extremely volatile dust type, rigged to some tibanna gas and a thermal detonator. Their objective was to take out this Acclamator, and leave the Atlesian warships to have a chance and collectively take out the other one.

"Prime it." Jared told him. "Right up next to that reactor. TJ, help me seal the other doors."

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

"Get down Yang!" Shadow yelled as he charged through the bushes, firing at a squad of Third Systems Army troopers getting ready to ambush her.

Yang turned and crouched down, scanning the brush for danger. Shadow made quick work of the clones, as they had no idea he was coming. He scanned the area for more hostiles, eying his motion tracker as he did so.

"Clear." Shadow stated, satisfied they were safe for the moment. "I know these guys are still pretty much standard infantry, but give them a shot and they will put you down swift."

Yang nodded.

"Have you seen anyone else?" Yang asked.

"Negative," Shadow replied. "Probably heading towards the beaches. We should be too."

"Why don't we all just communicate?"

"The Nova have proved to be capable of accessing enemy communication transmissions." Shadow explained. "As long as we all know where we are going, we don't need to know where we all are."

"I thought you said that communication was key." Yang pointed out.

"It is," Shadow nodded. "But if Shash happens to crack our transmissions, we are going to have lots of casualties."

"Inconvenient for us though." Yang frowned.

"As long as everyone remembers where to go, this should be fine. C'mon, let's get to the beach."

-Shash 3rd Person POV-

"Platoons four through six, scan the east side of the forest!" Shash barked.

Pretty much as soon as the Acclamators went to engage the Atlesian air fleet, the base's long range radar picked up multiple bogeys. They were thought to be stationary, until technicians realized they were skydiving. Shash was confident they could hold off the few numbers that made up this attack force. Still, it was best to

"Platoons seven and eight, support that beachhead and prepare for a possible landing! Everyone else, defensive positions around the base!"

The troopers all acknowledged his orders without question, following them with a purpose; something the White Fang's Faunus soldiers have not shown. Sure they were loyal and were dedicated to a cause, but they didn't move with the dedication clone troopers did. The clones moved with a feel that can only be induced by a lifetime of training, which was something they had.

"Get those walkers operational!" Shash yelled at a group of tank pilots.

The pilots immediately sprinted for their designated AT-TE walkers. The White Fang were mobilizing as well, utilizing their stolen Atlesian Paladins.

"Shash!" Roman's voice protruded from an area nearby.

Shash clenched his fists and took a deep breath, resisting any urge to draw his sidearm and shoot that bowler capped gangster right in the face. The last thing you want to do is agitate a Commander when they are organizing their men during an attack. Shash realized Roman didn't know that, or he didn't care.

"What is going on here?!" Roman asked.

"What do you think?" Shash responded in an annoyed tone. He didn't bother trying to hide it.

"You said that they wouldn't bother-"

"I said it would be stupid of them to attack us right now." Shash growled as he cut him off. "It appears they are stupid. Now if you excuse me, I'm busy."

"No, we aren't done like that." Roman grabbed Shash by the shoulder and tugged.

Shash lost it. He wrenched Roman's hand off of his shoulder and punched the gangster square in the face.

"Touch me again, and I will bury that cane in your heart." Shash threatened with absolute authority. "As I said before, I am busy. Unless you want me to shoot you right there, then by all means, bother me some more."

Roman was a man who did not like to be intimidated, and he didn't seem to be, but he was smart enough to know Shash wasn't bluffing. After carefully rubbing his jaw in anger, standing up, and dusting his coat off, he left. Shash went back to barking orders off at squads of clone troopers. Judging by the reports coming over the commlink channels, these were Hunters and Huntresses. That's what Shash originally thought, before Machine's decrypting software cracked the enemy communications. Shadow was here, on the ground. As soon as he had everyone else mobilizing, he would deal with Shadow personally, once and for all.

Shash activated the private communications channel to his other two Nova ARCs.

"Detta, status?" Shash demanded.

"Breach on the Tiphmeister," Detta reported. "A trio of SBH have worked their way to the reactor. I managed to injure one of them."

"So they have control of the reactor room of the ship?" Shash asked, with a noticeable growl in his tone.

"Affirmative," Detta confirmed in an apologetic tone. "They've sealed themselves inside."

"And what exactly are you doing about it?"

"We've got every entry covered." Detta explained. "We'll be breaching from all sides."

"Good." Shash sighed. "Report your results. Seoul, status?"

"East side of the compound," Seoul replied. "I'm mobilizing the White Fang." She scoffed. "Torchwick has his thumbs planted all the way up his ass to do anything."

"Acknowledged," Shash knew that Roman talked to him already. "Get in combat as soon as you can. I want you on that beachhead."

"Yes sir." Seoul replied crisply.

Shash switched his link onto a direct channel to the Tiphmeister.

"Commander Felwinter," Shash greeted. "I wanted to let you know that the island is under attack."

"Attack?" Felwinter was shocked. "How many?"

"A few dozen," Shash replied. "They deployed via air drop, shortly after you broke off to deal with the fleet."

"Can you handle it?"

"We have a lot more men than we need to stop them." Shash assured. "Focus on the Atlesian airships. That's usually where their main infantry is transported from."

"Understood."

-Ironwood 3rd Person POV-

"Two on my tail!"

"I can't shake 'em!"

"Trio incoming! Port side!"

"Hit! Hit! I'm going down!"

General Ironwood was listening to the radio chatter from his smaller fighters. He stood on the bridge aboard his new ship, moving the fleet into strategic positions. The larger cruisers; the ones Shadow had named them as _Acclamators, _were slowly advancing and inching closer and closer towards them. According to Shadow, if Jared's team didn't take out at least one of them, this fleet would burn and the main battle would be over before it even begins.

The enemy had extremely skilled pilots and fast ships. Trios of smaller, almost triangular shaped craft were twice, maybe three times the speed of the Atlesian fighters. The cannons mounted in between the dual vertical wings on each side of the craft we're capable of taking down Ironwood's fighters in seconds. To down one of them, if one could get enough concentrated dust rounds, was nearly impossible, especially with their skills in flight. Regardless of how small they were; they were fast, and they were deadly.

What worse is that there was another class of fighter, a lot larger and more heavily armored and armed. They had a long fuselage and a long wing on each side with a cannon mounted forward on each one. The wings seemed to split into three on each side whenever they entered attack mode. Unlike most aircraft Ironwood had seen, these fighters had a rear gunning seat, allowing them to take out pursuing attackers, while at the same time chasing down squads. Ironwood was glad he hadn't seen any of the Y-shaped bombers yet. Only a few of them had caused so much destruction on Vale, and out here, in open water, with no backup, Ironwood's ships would be sitting ducks.

They were holding though. With the Atlesian airships providing cover and support, the enemy attack craft were being pushed back.

"Phoenix squadron is gone," The technician Sergeant Argos reported. "The _Reverence_ is taking heavy fire."

"Captain Yana, move us closer to the Reverence," Ironwood ordered the ship driver. "There are about one thousand soldiers on that ship. Do not lose it."

"Aye sir!" Argos and Yana replied.

"Assigning Rapier squadron to provide cover." The Sergeant added.

"Status from the ground?" Ironwood called to Lieutenant Piko on the communications grid.

"No transmission from the ground." He replied. "We lost contact as soon as we got within the enemy's radar range. They've been jamming us ever since."

_We can't call for help either_...Ironwood thought.

"Can we get any frame of action from here?" Ironwood asked.

"We can tell there is conflict going on," Piko said uneasy. "The side that is winning is unknown."

"Enemy warships coming within range!" Argos cried. "Heat blooms from their main cannon arrays sir! They are just warming up!"

"Anything from Jared's team?" Ironwood asked.

"Impossible to know at this moment." Piko replied. "But by looking at the fact that the enemy warships are still advancing, they are either dead, or are having trouble. Either way, we might be on our own."

Ironwood looked beyond the explosions between the smaller attack craft as they clouded the viewport like a swarm. It reminded him of a hive of wasps. But beyond them, advanced the enemy warships. They were massive, and any other day, Ironwood would've challenged them, but Shadow had explained the type of firepower they were carrying. If Shadow's claims were accurate, they could gut the entire fleet before it realized it could not win and have the chance to turn around and run. Ironwood had to keep in mind the possibility that Jared's team would not be successful. Had he just allowed dozens of students to plunge to their deaths on the island?

"Tell the _Reverence_ to pull back," Ironwood ordered. "Spread all the ships out to widen the enemy's line of fire. See if we can hit them from as many angles as possible." Ironwood paused before completing his orders. He took a deep breath, feeling the heartbreak in the last one. "And notify all ships and fighter squadrons to be ready for a retreat."

Lieutenant Piko froze on the last command, looking up from his station, checking to see if he had misheard the order. The rest of the bridge officers were shaken themselves.

"Should I send a pair of dropships to extract the students?" Lieutenant Amber asked.

"They wouldn't break through enemy lines." Argos shook his head. "Even if they did, those warships would have a clean shot at them."

"They could go around." Yana suggested.

"That would take too long," Ironwood sighed. "And those warships would be in firing range way before they'd even reach the island."

"Are you proposing we leave the students there?" Lieutenant Amber asked in horror. "Alone?"

"We don't have the sources to extract them," Ironwood pointed out. "Any effort to help them could end up getting ourselves demolished." Ironwood paused, letting everyone sink that thought in. "There would be no one protecting Vale, other than the small force we left."

Despite the combat outside and the sound of the Officers still managing their stations, the bridge was dead silent.

"Am I clear?" Ironwood pressed in a more formal tone.

"Aye sir." The bridge replied in unison.

-TJ 3rd Person POV-

"Topside sealed." TJ called out to Jared on the lower level.

TJ had hot wired the doors shut on the upper catwalks. The reactor room of his Acclamator-Class Assault Ship was sealed off.

"We are sealed down here for the moment." Jared stated. "Anyone through those doors?"

TJ walked over to the door closest to him. After toying around with the console, it showed a screen of what was happening just outside the door. A group of clones were getting ready to storm it. TJ couldn't tell exactly from this angle, but it seemed like they were placing a breaching charge. One of the TSA troopers looked straight at the door camera. The barrel of his DC-15S carbine came up and lined with the camera. Then the feed died, morphing right into static.

"They are getting ready to breach here." TJ waned. TJ walked up to another door and checked the video feed outside again. "Same thing here."

"Weapons check everyone." Jared ordered.

TJ looked down at the combat webbing over his armor. Adding to the half spent clip in his DC-17M right now, he had three clips left; two for his sniper attachment and one more for his assault mode. The previous battles throughout the ship leading to the reactor room has spent a lot of their ammunition. Other than that, TJ had one more grenade for his anti armor attachment and a concussion grenade.

"Five clips on my Deece," GT called out. "Make that four. Nothing else."

"One magazine for assault, two for sniper," TJ said. "I've also got a shot for anti armor and I've got a concussion grenade."

"Last full mag GT," Jared sighed. "Could you spare one?"

"One." GT nodded as he tossed a clip at Jared.

"Let's assume they'll be coming from all sides." Jared stated. "Do we have any other escape route?"

"Air vents over here." TJ said as he saw a grill opening in the ceiling.

"We'll have to be ready with our cables." Jared stated. "GT, status?"

"Bomb got messed up when we landed," GT explained. "I've got to fix it up a bit."

"Take your time to get it right," Jared assured. "TJ and I have got you covered."

All of a sudden, several explosions went off at once. TJ turned to the door closest to him. Immediately he saw a small metal sphere roll through the door. Jared leaped back, avoiding the blast of the grenade. He turned around, seeing a group of troopers breaching another door on the catwalk. TJ opened fire nice and early, taking down the lead men easily. As he did a quick whirl and crouch to defend another side, he felt the sharp pain from his right shoulder. The wound would limit his close quarters combat. TJ kept turning and firing, defending the side entryways at the same time. The TSA soldiers stopped advancing, but TJ was starting to waste rounds. He slowed down his fire rate and limited his shots. He could hear Jared down below on the main floor, fighting off the entry ways down there. TJ allowed a peek to see GT one handing his DC-17M as he prepared the bomb, firing off a few shots should a trooper get within firing range.

_Blam!_

The feeling of a train running into you at sixty miles per hour hit him in his right calf. He dropped his knee from the wound, gritting his teeth to ignore the pain. He fired back, killing two more clones who poked out just a fraction too much.

"TJ, get down here!" Jared called to him.

TJ emptied his clip into both doorways again to suppress enemy fire. Using his aura and focusing it to the ground, he jumped, landing safely behind his twin. He released the clip and switched to his anti armor mode. He levelled his weapon up at one of the doorways on the catwalks and loosened a grenade into one. The screams of clones were heard as a white flash filled the entry. TJ quickly switched back into sniper mode, deactivating the sights. He wouldn't need a scope at this range.

_Whizz_!

TJ ducked as several blue bolts zipped past him and GT. They came from the lower catwalks. There was one clone there. It was a Nova ARC.

"Cover that front." Jared called out to TJ. "He's mine."

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

Jared had noticed someone on the lower catwalk. He nearly took out TJ and GT. Jared recognized the clone as Detta. A rage boiled down into Jared's core just thinking about that ARC. Jared was going to kill him, here and now.

Jared leaped onto the lower level catwalks. He was on his last magazine, which had just more than a quarter amount of shots left. It was harder here. Thick pillars were evenly placed around, leaving just enough room to take cover.

Jared ducked as a blue strobe of blaster fire emerged from his left. He turned and fired, spraying in the direction of the shots. As soon as the ammunition counter read empty, he got up and charged. Detta appeared just as Jared reached the end of the catwalk. Jared held his breath, activating his semblance. The almost frozen Detta was just repositioning his blaster to fire. Jared slung his rifle and kicked the DC-15S carbine out of the ARC trooper's hands. Releasing his breath in the action, Detta returned to normal speed, caught off guard by the disarm, he leaped backwards, moving to a safer location. He ejected his vibroblades from his forearms and got ready to fight. Jared drew his Katanas and let them pulse with energy.

"I hope you made peace with that blonde bitch of yours," Detta taunted. "Because you are going back to her in pieces. Maybe I'll pay her a visit after."

"And I hope you have proved your worthless hide to Shash," Jared shot back. "It'd be a shame to disappoint him on a mission of utmost importance."

"Worthless? Maybe. I've proved more worth than you have."

"Say that to my fist when I jam it straight down your throat." Jared growled as he jumped into a slash attack.

The two met blade to blade for a moment, no more than half a second. Then they separated, only to come back to heavy blows. Their combat almost became a dance. Due to their battleground being only a catwalk, it was go forward, or step back.

Jared turned into a series of spin attacks. _Right blade, left blade, right blade_. Detta ducked and leaped back from every single one, searching for an opportunity. He found one, rolling right under Jared's attack, slashing at Jared's right calf as he passed. Jared winced at the blow and whirled around, throwing a counter swing. Immediately after his dodge, Detta leaned right in for a killing blow. Jared saw it coming early, deflecting the nearly unexpected blade away from him. Jared spun once more into a double swing, the hard impact forcing Detta back. Jared sidekicked the stunned Nova, knocking him back several paces. Jared didn't give him the opportunity to recover, charging right into him, planting his elbow into the center of Detta's chest.

From a lying back position, Detta somersaulted backwards onto his feet, drawing a concealed sidearm. Jared sprang himself as high as he could, flipping over Detta, slicing the sidearm in half mid jump. He landed back on his feet and spun around, sweeping his blades an inch off the catwalk. Detta jumped right over them, tossing the damaged pistol. Jared sliced it in half once more, not ready for Detta's roundhouse kick. Jared toppled around, nearly falling off the catwalk from the attack. He noticed Detta in his peripheral vision, coming to shove, but Jared swung his blade around, just barely regaining his balance in time to nearly decapitate him. Jared regained his balance and planted his feet, launching an overhead strike down at the Nova. Detta brought his blades to bear, and the two clashed, then forced each other away, both skidding away several feet. Detta switched to a more offensive form while Jared stood ready with his Katanas. The pain in his calf was still there, and he could still hear conflict above. He had to finish this fight quickly. He had to finish it now.

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

"Look out!" The clone screamed at his companions as Shadow threw his body at the trooper's back.

Shadow landed on him, jamming his rifle into the clone trooper's spinal cord, then pulled the trigger, feeling the crunch and melting of bones as the dust infused laser bolt plowed through the back of his neck. Shadow looked up, watching Tested, Ruby and Weiss emerge from the treeline, hitting the defenses on the beach from behind. He noticed Yang coming behind him, fast. He turned and ducked as soon as he saw a clone flying through the air. The trooper was stunned and was trying to get up when Shadow shot him in the head. He turned back again and saw Yang emerge from the bushes, cracking her knuckles.

"These guys are funny." She chuckled.

"Don't get cocky," Shadow stated. "Let's move."

Shadow charged onto the beach, first focusing on a bunker emplacement that had turned its attention to Tested. The squad of clones fired away. The shots that missed whizzed away into the treeline. The ones that didn't, ended up dissipating a foot in front of the Sergeant. Shadow had them by surprise by the time he was within optimum firing range. He opened up in quick bursts, killing two of them before they know what happened. Then Ruby zoomed right into the middle of the group, staying low and twirling with her Scythe, sending every one of them up over end. Ruby zoomed away in a retreat, allowing Shadow to kill off the stunned men.

The sound of more blaster fire instinctively launched Shadow into the cover of the bunker. He poked his head up, looking at the beach. He noticed all the men in defensive positions, now charging up at him. Shadow took cover once again, feeling the heat of the storm of blue ionized rounds zipping over his head. He looked over at the bunker entrance and saw Tested, crawling on all fours towards him.

"Position compromised." Tested announced as he hauled himself beside Shadow.

"No shit." Shadow drew a thermal detonator from one of his pouches.

"That's got a three hundred meter blast radius." Tested explained nervously.

"It's on the lowest setting." Shadow assured.

Shadow looked over to the girls, now joined by Designer and Blake, deciding to inch towards them. Shadow held up his hand, palm facing them, signaling to wait.

"How fast can you crawl?" Shadow asked Tested.

"That's not a good question."

"I guess we are running then." Shadow sighed as he planted the thermal on the ground beside him.

The clones were now all within Shadow's motion tracker. He didn't bother counting them, but he estimated more than thirty. He judged their distance by the labels on his tracker.

_Thirty meters._

_Twenty meters._

_Ten meters._

"Fall back!" Shadow barked.

He and Tested bolted out of the bunker, running straight for the others. Shadow eyed his motion tracker, waiting until the clones were just on top. Shadow skidded to a halt at the treeline, pulling a detonator from his belt. He hit the button and watched the bunker erupt in flames, absorbing the clones around it. Shadow could hear their screams from the treeline.

"Pick off the strays." Shadow ordered.

Designer, Tested and Shadow opened fire, slowly making their way towards the flaming bunker, killing off any surviving troopers. Shadow found two covered in ash, struggling to find a weapon. He shot them dead, then moved on. Designer was already at the crest, opening up with his Z-6 on more clones coming to reinforce them. Just on their flank, groups of students charged from the treeline, intercepting them and fighting them off.

"Tear down the fortifications!" Shadow yelled as he opened fire. "Tear everything down!"

-Seoul 3rd Person POV-

_Crack!_

That wet, fleshy crack was the last sound the three other teens heard from one of their companions. Seoul tossed the body to the ground and threw herself into the next student closest to her, taking him down hard. She rolled away, evading the dust rounds fired by one of them. The shooter had an assault rifle-like weapon. Seoul drew her dual sidearms, returning fire just half a second before they came out of their holsters. The student leaped away, flipping midair to avoid the barrage. Seoul stood and sidekicked an oncoming attacker in her blind spot. This student recovered quickly, spinning and swinging a battle axe. Seoul sidestepped and leaped back.

Anticipating an attack to her left, he raised her sidearm and blindly fired, hearing a satisfying body fall. Still having her attention on the student with the axe, she got right under his arc as he reeled into an angled swing. Seoul came up, jamming one of her pistols right up below his jaw, firing as the metal touched the flesh. The student's mouth, eyes and nose erupted in flames from the discharge, and he fell backwards, dead.

Seoul dived into the bushes, not forgetting the shooter. Dust rounds flew past her, taking bits and leaves off the brush she was crouched in, but she didn't bother dodging. She switched to her infrared filter on her Heads Up Display, highlighting the student like he was on fire.

_He was about to be_.

Seoul opened up, firing as many shots into his chest until he dropped dead. As soon as he hit the ground, Seoul was scanning the brush for more hostiles. She had another team closing on her three o'clock. She estimated five of them. They had probably heard the blaster fire. Seoul hit the release mechanism on her sidearms and dropped the empty clips. She slapped fresh magazines into her pistols and prepared for the next team. Then, a notification popped up on her Heads Up Display, prompting her to check the Nova commlink channel. Seoul sighed, slipping her sidearms back into their holsters.

_Shame to miss the kill_.

Seoul pulled a thermal detonator explosive from her belt and set it to the maximum blast range. She set the timer to forty seconds, anticipating the running time of the five students closing in, then placed it under the corpse of the student with the assault rifle. Then, she made her way back into the brush, moving further and further away from the corpses until she was out of range. She activated her link to the Nova channel.

"Seoul here," She reported. "What is it?"

"What's your status, Seoul?" Shash asked.

"It's going well in my sector," Seoul replied as she heard the detonation of the thermal in the distance. "Is there something wrong?"

"Beach fortifications are taking a beating," Shash explained. "That seems to be the main target of the assault force on the ground."

"Heading there right now," Seoul acknowledged. "Where's Detta?"

"Detta hasn't been answering his commlink ever since he reported that he was breaching the reactor room on board through _Tiphmeister._" Shash replied. "He's most likely in combat right now."

"Understood. I'll head over towards the beaches."

"I'll get there as soon as our tank divisions are moving." Shash stated. "Don't lose those beaches."

-Tested 3rd Person POV-

"Careful there!" Tested called out to Yang, who narrowly dodged a blaster bolt.

Yang whirled around and fired a blast with her Ember Cecilias, knocking down a trio of clones that has fired upon her.

"On the right!" Designer called out.

Tested turned to his right as he passed a building, the barrel of his DC-15A meeting the visor of a clone trooper. Tested pulled the trigger. It was still too easy to kill them. Too easy for Tested's liking. Tested ran up to Designer, who had just flanked a platoon of clones and was proceeding to mow them all down with his Z-6.

"Eat heat!" Designer snarled as he waved the chain gun back and forth, pelting the unsuspecting platoon. Tested came to his side, joining him in the shooting. "Where do you think you're going!" Designer yelled at the surviving clones as they tried to escape.

Tested turned his attention to the girls, who were working altogether, sabotaging defences and taking down clone squads. Weiss came around, freezing the clones' legs to the ground or freezing there hands to their weapons. Ruby zoomed and twirled herself through them, sending them flying away as they made contact with her Scythe. Yang and Blake were a bit different. The two fought normally, right beside each other. Tested saw Blake flip over Yang and kick a soldier as Yang slid knock a trooper off his feet. Blake tossed her weapon in a kusarigama form at Yang, who caught the pistol like end by the grip. Yang swung her into a duo of clones, then a trio. Then they started spinning, taking down groups at a time.

"Bunker up ahead!" Designer exclaimed. "Get down!"

Tested saw the heavy rapid fire rounds of the E-Web cannon emplacement in the bunker and hit the ground flat immediately, feeling the air get knocked out of his lungs as the extra gear weighed him down. Designer seemed to feel the same. His gear looked like it was going to bury him in the sand, and Tested could notice Designer had already left a noticeable groove in it.

"Have you figured out how to use that anti armor attachment on that new Deece?!" Designer shouted, trying to make his voice heard over the thumping of the E-Web.

"Negative!" Tested replied in the same manner. "Shadow never taught me how to use it so he never gave me any grenades anyway!"

"Terrific!" Designer scoffed, pulling a canister from his belt.

He pressed a button and tossed it. Smoke started rising from the canister, concealing them from the E-Web gunner. Designer, still in his prone position, reeled his Z-6 over to face the approximate location of the bunker.

"Covering!" He yelled as he opened fire, pointing at a dug up trench to Tested's far left.

Tested rolled to his left as fast as he could. He could hear rounds impacting the sand around him. Tested kept rolling, feeling the nausea from the twirling until he fell flat on his back into the trench. Recovering from the fallen, he looked up, seeing the backs of two Clones in front of him. Tested felt around for the 15A rifle, but realized he must have lost it as he was rolling. He scrambled for his sidearm as the clones turned around and took aim at him. Tested luckily fired first, not even bothering to aim correctly, spraying rounds in their general direction until they dropped dead.

After making sure his targets were down indefinitely, Tested equipped his DC-17M and slowly made his way towards the bunker.

-Felwinter 3rd Person POV-

"Are we within firing range yet?!" Felwinter asked impatiently.

"Negative sir," a technician reported. "We are entering optimum range for torpedoes and be within turbo laser range shortly after."

"Are our cannon arrays primed and ready?"

"Yes sir. All gunning crews are at their stations."

"Sir!" Another technician called out. "The enemy warships are spreading out!"

"Most likely trying to expand our field of fire," Felwinter suggested. "Mistake for them, as they need to concentrate their firepower to penetrate our shields."

"Shall we move to push them closer together?"

"Negative," Felwinter replied. "Load torpedo bays one through four and target the two nearest enemy warships. Notify the _Caleb_ to do the same. As soon as we are within range, fire at will."

"Yes sir."

"You!" Felwinter turned to a Sergeant technician. "What is the status of the rogue Shadow Troopers who had infiltrated the ship?"

"The situation in in the middle of being taken care of, sir." The technician replied. "There has been no word since the first squad breached. At this point, we are assuming they are still in combat."

"Send all platoons to the reactor room." Felwinter demanded. "I want this situation dealt with immediately."

-GT 3rd Person POV-

GT was out of ammunition now. He dropped his DC-17M and focused on rigging the explosive. He checked his surroundings every few seconds to make sure he was clear. He caught sight of TJ covering him. His brother had run out of ammo as well, utilizing his sword. The blade was coated with the bright blue flames that intertwined with TJ's semblance. With every blow that TJ inflicted on a clone, turned them to ash. GT spent three more seconds to watch TJ spin and slash four more TSA soldiers, the bodies under their armor faded from existence, leaving just the burnt, damaged, smoking plastoid.

GT felt a shot glance off the left side of his lower abdomen. He turned immediately, seeing the shooter take another shot. GT ducked right under it and sprang himself, turning himself into a projectile. He felt the heat of the two more missed shots soar over his back as he flew straight into the clone trooper's gut. The clone sprawled on the ground trying to gain an upper hand on GT, but GT was already on top of him. He slapped away the DC-15A rifle the trooper tried to bat him away with and reached for the beskar dagger holstered on his shoulder plate. The trooper threw a punch, but GT took it, ignoring the blow and driving the dagger right into the unprotected throat of the clone. The clone twitched for two seconds, clawing at GT's helmet, then mimicked a rag doll. GT removed the dagger and looked down at his bloody gloved hands.

"Blast him!" a clone yelled.

At the sound of those words, GT jerked his head towards the doorway closest to him, seeing three more clones taking aim. He rolled to the side, blue ionized particle projectiles impacted the spot he crouched at a second ago. GT dodged once more, postured his body correctly, and threw his beskar dagger right at the lead man. The dagger struck the center clone right in the center of his helmet, the knife going straight through his visor, cracking the rest of it. The clones comrades took one full second to look at their fallen comrade before they took aim at GT once again. GT was too close for them to do anything this time. He reached back and drew his sword, igniting his red with flames. He whirled around and slashed the remaining two right across the chest. He stood over his kills and peeked out of the hallway. The sight of an interior defense turret forced him back inside, heavy turbo lasers rounds passing by the reactor room entrance.

Then a shot from an elevated position shaved his left cheek. His left side of his face boiled for a moment and the smell of scorched armor passed through his lungs. He craned his head up into the direction of the shot immediately after. There were a group of clones on the upper catwalks, taking firing positions. Then two clones dropped, the rest ducking down to avoid TJ's blaster fire.

GT looked over at TJ, wielding a fallen DC-15A rifle, firing back at the clones up on the catwalks.

"Down!" GT yelled as he picked up a fallen DC-15S.

TJ ducked, allowing GT to shoot the trio of clones about to rush him. GT rushed to his brother's side, drawing his sword and slashing away at two more TSA troopers just around the corner.

"We can't hold out forever!" TJ yelled.

"But we can kill enough that they will stop coming." GT stated. "Keep fighting."

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

Jared stumbled back from a glancing blow that nearly ended him. Detta's blades left a decent gash on Jared's chest. Jared whirled around once more, coming into a slashing motion. His attack was just a bit too low and Detta slashed at Jared's left upper arm. Jared dropped his left Katana. Detta walked over it, kicking it further behind him as he advanced. Jared swung his Katana again and again, blocking Detta's nimble attacks. Jared's sword filled with energy as he stepped forward and swung.

Detta back flipped just over the attack. As soon as he landed, he sprang forward, blades pointed at Jared. Jared spun and swung his Katana, hard, deflecting the attack. Detta almost lost his balance, but whirled into a flip, landing right back on planted feet. He threw an overhead swing. This time Jared held his breath. His surroundings slowed. He focused carefully on Detta, moving slowly into his attack. Jared looked right at the opening, swinging his blade right between where the blade attached to his forearm plate, severing it from his arm. Detta took the attack in surprise, not ready for Jared's backhand punch.

"Getting slow, Detta." Jared mocked.

"I'm not the one with powers." Detta snarled.

Jared noticed Detta had stopped calling him _Vod_. That meant he was angry. Jared spun into a backhand swing, then threw a forehand. He and Detta clashed swords all around. Each blow was a powerful one. Vibrations and energy lances along with blade clashes filled the air with noise. The two swung harder, faster, getting desperate to kill each other. Jared felt his wounds burn, but if he slowed down, he would die. At one moment, Detta took a step back, leaving Jared almost off balance from the unexpected dodge. Then Detta lunged and sprang himself up into a backflip. His boot connected with Jared's jaw and Jared's vision went fuzzy for a moment. He struggled to remain conscious from the blow. When his vision cleared, he was flat on his back, his helmet several feet behind him. Jared reached around for his Katana, not finding it around him. He got up right as soon as he could, just barely ducking under Detta's attempt to decapitate him. Jared was right in in the correct spot. He swept his leg full circle, catching the ARC unexpectedly. Detta's legs went up and he lost balance, falling right off the catwalk, screaming as he descended to a falling death.

Jared sighed. It was over. He allowed himself the seconds to just recover from the wounds inflicted on him. He felt around his jaw, discovering a great bulging bruise. Satisfied he was alright, he walked over to the edge where the Nova ARC had fallen. He peered over the edge and looked down to make sure he was gone.

_Wham!_

All of a sudden, two boots planted themselves right in Jared's face. Jared stumbled back, losing his balance. Just as he fell, he reached out with both arms instinctively,catching a grip on the edge of the catwalk just in time. He shook his head and cleared his vision, then tried to climb, only to be stopped by a boot, which crushed his left hand. Jared felt the crack and dislocation of bones and screamed in agony. He lost feeling within the hand and looked up, seeing Detta standing over the ledge. He remove his helmet, let it clunk to the ground. He smiled.

"You thought it would be that easy?"

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

"Bunker down!" Tested called out over the commlink.

Shadow had been pinned down for several minutes, trying to make his way to another set of AA guns. The fact that the bunker was down, relieved him, as he now brought himself back onto his feet and charged at the AA gun array, firing as he went. The clones were ready for him, but it didn't do them much good, as Shadow easily shot them down, weaving from side to side and letting shots fly in short, repeated bursts. As soon as every white armored figure was dead, he primed and tossed a thermal detonator at the cannons, incinerating the array. The battle was going well.

"Look out!"

The explosion and cries of students drew Shadow closer to the treeline. Shadow looked over to see what was wrong, catching sight of an AT-TE plowing through the trees into the beach. The falling tree injured and scattered students, making them easy targets for the four ball-laser turrets mounted on the front of the vehicle around the pilot canopy. Students at a longer range were already unleashing as many dust rounds as they could into it, but their shots were only capable of grazing its armor. The main heavy cannon mounted up top swerved to target them, sending a blinding blue light at the group, a large explosion protruding from its impact point.

The sound of thick wood being splintered came from Shadow's left. Shadow instinctively turned towards the treeline to his left, seeing the hulking mass of another walker, it's main cannon targeting him. Just before it took aim, a smoking projectile sailed through the air, impacting the main pilot canopy, the front and interior of the six legged tank erupting into flames. The tank stood high, as if someone had just given it an uppercut, then dropped entirely on its front, sitting there in its destroyed state.

"We gotta move!" Designer was jogging over to Shadow, holding the front stability grip of his Z-6 in left hand and shouldering his RPS-6 rocket launcher in his right. "Scanners say about three tank divisions on _this_ beach."

"Paladins?" Shadow asked, referencing the White Fang.

"Not spotted yet." Designer replied. "Tested's up with the girls. We need to get back into the treeline."

"We have to keep the beach cleared for the Atlesian assault!" Shadow protested.

"Down!"

Shadow's legs turned to butter and he fell onto his stomach hard, feeling the heat pass over his back. A second heatwave protruded from the opposite side of where the heavy ion round came from. Shadow's weapon was already in its sniper mode when he got back onto one knee. His scope fell in line with the clone manning main heavy cannon mounted atop the AT-TE. He squeezed the trigger, leaving a smoking hole in the white helmet. Then Designer aimed his RPS-6, struggling to target it correctly with one hand, firing at one of its front legs. The walker tumbled forward onto its front, where a student wielding a grenade launcher type weapon, loosened a canister through the forward driver canopy. The glass shattered and the canopy turned into smoldering metal.

Shadow then saw movement within the treeline. He winked his thermal imaging filter on and saw the rows of platoons advancing just behind the tanks. Their weapons became sudden blips red, signifying that they were shooting.

"We can't let them retake the beach." Shadow stated. "Tell everyone to focus on the infantry. I want you taking down the tanks Des. I'll assist you."

"Hold up," Designer stopped him. "Shadow, if we stay on this beach, we are all going to die!"

"We just have to hold out until Ironwood can get through."

"But how long is that going to take?"

"As long as Jared spends-"

The duo dropped onto their bellies again when Designer's Z-6 was shot out of his hands.

"If we survive this," Designer promised. "I'm gonna kick Jared's-"

Designer's last word was drowned out by another blast. Shadow motioned towards the walkers. The tech officer nodded.

"Let's go!"

-Blake 3rd Person POV-

"Ladybug!" Ruby called out.

That was Blake's cue. The two concentrated their attack on one of the legs of an incoming tank. Even with their combined attacks, the armor was not penetrated. Blake swerved from her attack as she avoided the intended stomp of the front leg. That put her in a wrong spot; directly in the firing range of one of the forward ball turrets. Just as it took aim at her, a funnel of ice morphed itself around the barrel. She turned to her right and saw Weiss lunge by, freezing one of the front legs. The tank struggled, trying to break the ice. Blake could tell it would get free, due to the cracking in frozen water. Blake threw herself at the canopy, looking straight through the window at a startled man in white armor. He almost stumbled over in his chair, and he seemed to be reaching for something in a compartment to his right. Blake pressed her Gambol Shroud in it's pistol form and jammed the muzzle against the thick glass, firing as fast as she could. The glass only cracked before she got a heads up from Ruby. Blake looked up to see the danger, finding another clone aiming his blaster rifle down at her.

She grabbed the barrel of the weapon, forcing it out of harm's way, and reeled herself up, planting her boots up the trooper's jaw. She leaned back and arched herself into a backflip, landing on the ground below the walker. She looked up to see that Weiss had frozen all three of the legs on the right side. Yang was several meters to the rear of the tank, sprinting as fast as she could. Blake understood the plan, throwing her Gambol Shroud in its kusarigama form. As soon as Yang caught it, Blake yanked as hard as she could. Yang soared towards her, her free hand into a fist, shattering all three starboard side legs like glass. The tank immediately fell to its side, unmoving.

_Whizz!_

Flurries of blue bolts started flying out of the forest. Blake leaped left, sidestepped right, the dove behind the cover of the downed tank. She heard the ringing impacts as lasers impacted on the tank's hull. She looked towards her flank and saw Tested strafing the treeline, spraying rounds at hip level. Slowly, enemy fire began to cease. Whether it was Tested killing or suppressing fire, Blake didn't know but Tested dived into a roll to get behind the cover of the tank, the rear section blew up in flames.

Blake turned away, blinded by the light, smoke, and smoldering metal that was once the rear half of the tank. The rest of team RWBY arrived at her side and Tested crawled his way over.

"Enemy reinforcements just arrived," Tested announced as he brought himself up into a crouch. "Designer tells me there are about three tank divisions in the forest, and they're about to be on top of us."

Another heavy impact on the tank shook the five. Tested pressed a button on a sphere he pulled from one of his pouches, the chucked it over the tank in a high arc. A hood resonated from the treeline four seconds after.

"How many vehicles per division?" Weiss asked in disbelief.

"Usually six to eight," Tested replied, then shook his head. "Maybe more. This is a large attack force."

"No need to do the math on the fact that we are outnumbered." Ruby stated.

"The infantry are not a problem," Yang added. "But those tanks are providing cover fire."

"Any way we can slow down the tanks from exiting the forest?" Blake asked.

Tested was looked down, seeming to try and recall knowledge.

"We didn't call it the _All Terrain-Tactical Enforcer_ for nothing," Tested stated. "But it's heavy, and can sink it's legs into mud and soil if it is loose enough."

"We might be able to take out the main gun if we drop some trees on it." Ruby suggested.

"Or at least block a path." Tested nodded.

"Whatever we are going to do, we should do it now." Yang urged.

"Alright." Tested nodded. "Distract that tanks and I can provide some cover fire against the infantry.

Blake nodded along with the rest of her team. She reloaded Gambol Shroud with a fresh dust magazine and waited for Tested's go. Tested had morphed his rifle into a sniper mode and was inched up close to the edge of their cover. He held up his hand, with three fingers, dropping one ever second. On the last one he pumped a fist and rolled over into a prone position. That was the go signal. Blake leaped over the downed tank and started sprinting for the treeline.

-TJ 3rd Person POV-

TJ shot three more clones up on the catwalks. They began to fire less and less. He spared a moment to look over at GT, who was cutting down the clones who were rushing them.

"They are rushing hard now!" GT warned.

TJ heard a group behind him. He turned and fired. The lead men died instantly, but there were a lot of them. More than TJ could shoot down. TJ dropped his rifle and drew his sword, charging into the bunch, spinning into a tornado like attack. He felt every last clone in that group turn to ash.

"TJ! Together!" GT called.

TJ leaped towards GT, landing behind him. There were about maybe thirty of them charging at once.

"Let's clear the floor!" GT yelled.

The two concentrated their energies with each other. Together they spun, turning into a red a blue hurricane. All the clones within a twenty meter radius were killed instantly. The rest sprawled on the ground in an effort to regain their footing. GT and TJ thought the same, dropping their swords on the ground in sync. They both picked up whatever blaster they found on the ground and fired, finishing up the stunned clones still recovering from the attack. TJ scanned the area around him, looking for a moving body.

"Clear." He announced.

"They've stopped coming." GT said after a moment of silence. "We haven't killed everyone on this ship. We've barely gotten an eighth of them."

TJ looked up at the upper catwalks. The clones in positions up there had retreated.

"We'll take this opportunity right now." TJ stated. "Where is Jared?"

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

Jared was hanging onto the ledge for his life. Detta crouching right over him, smiling.

"Look as us here, yet again," Detta taunted. "My blade, you, clinging onto the edge of life, sound familiar?"

"Nope," Jared teased. "Doesn't ring a bell."

"Oh, so you don't remember our first fight?" Detta sneered. "It seems that must be a few brain cells coming out of there."

Detta pointed at Jared's nose. Jared felt warm liquid trickling down. Some of it passed through his lips. He tasted blood. He looked down and saw the nosebleed staining his armor.

"You were always an asswipe, weren't you?" Jared shot back.

"Bold statement for a man so close to death." Detta brought his remaining blade close to Jared's wrist.

Jared was thinking of a way out. There was really not much he could do. There was something extra Jared packed though. A spare vibroblade, sheathed at the back of his belt. He remembered one moment from a past battle, something that had bought him time before. He had to time this just right. But first, he'd need a distraction.

"I was hoping to see you watch your new home and friends burn when we started orbital bombardment, but you seem to be too dangerous to be kept alive." Detta said with slight disappointment. "Still, it's not like you have done much anyway. As soon as we are within firing range, the Atlesian air fleet burns."

The sound of turbo laser fire rumbled the ship.

"And that is that." Detta explained. "So what was that you said about showing worth? That is something you have certainly not done today."

Jared looked just past Detta, noticing GT on a higher catwalk, taking aim with a DC-15A rifle.

"You want to look me in the eye and say that." Jared taunted.

"Your eyes are how I know what you are planning." Detta replied as he turned to deflect the shot GT fired at him. His blades just barely deflected the round away from him.

Jared had his moment. He held his breath, and Detta slowed down. He reeled himself up with his right hand. His left hand was unresponsive, so he let go of the ledge. Luckily, his semblance even slowed his fall. Detta was moving in slow motion, his blade coming to end Jared. Jared grabbed his spare vibroblade with his good hand and jammed it right into the side of Detta's neck, tearing the thick blood vessels. Just as he let go of his breath, he managed to grab onto the ledge once more. Time returned to its normal pace, and Detta jolted upright, clutching his throat. Jared pulled himself up slowly, keeping an eye on Detta who was choking and coughing up blood. He looked at Jared with eyes of disbelief.

"And for the record," Jared stated. "I kicked your ass last time."

Jared kicked the Nova off the ledge. This time Jared looked over, making sure he fell to his death. Now it was over.

"You alright down there?" GT asked.

"More or less." Jared replied. "Clear up there?"

"For now."

Jared grabbed his Katanas and sheathed them on his back. He wiped the blood from his nose and slipped his helmet back on. When he was ready, he focused his aura into his legs, leaping as high as he could, just barely making it to the next level. GT caught him by the left forearm to help him balance. Jared flinched from the pain of the broken hand. GT looked down at it.

"You can never leave a fight without a scratch, can you?" GT joked.

Quickly, without hesitation and mockingly, Jared shot back, "Okay, Mr. Concussion."

GT seemed for focus his semblance into Jared's hand. Jared felt himself almost reconnect with it, as if it reattached itself.

"I guess this works on organics as well." GT shrugged.

Jared felt around with his healed hand. Then something caught his eye. Something past GT. Jared went pale as soon as he saw it. A surviving clone trooper removed the bomb, and now had it in his hands.

"Drop it!" Jared barked.

The clone didn't listen, and GT fired. Even though GT made the kill, the shot was too late, and the clone threw it off the ledge just as he took the shot to the chest.

"Shit!" Jared cussed as he ran over to the ledge, hoping it maybe just landed on the rim. His effort was in vain. The bomb was gone.

"What happened?" TJ asked as he came running around the corner.

"We lost the bomb." Jared said slowly.

"We can't!" TJ replied. "Ironwood's fleet is getting roasted out there!"

"We just did." GT replied.

"We don't have a plan B." TJ stated. "This was the only chance Ironwood's fleet could survive and make it to the island."

"Blow up this ship, and Ironwood's fleet should be able to combine firepower to take out the other," Jared explained. "I know the plan."

"What the hell do we do now?" TJ asked frantically.

"It would've been better if we could take out both ships at once." GT sighed.

Then, an idea sparked into Jared's mind.

"We can…" Jared started.

"What are you talking about?" TJ asked.

"We are on one of the Acclamators." Jared explained. "We wanted to plant a bomb inside this reactor to make a bigger bomb. But, we already have a bomb, now."

"What are you saying?" GT asked curiously.

"I'm saying that we should make a visit to the bridge."

The sound of footsteps outside the reactor room broke the conversation.

"Air vents." Jared motioned at the ducts TJ had pointed out before. "Let's go."

-Designer 3rd Person POV-

Designer hated using his left hand, but he was multitasking. Shouldering his RPS-6 rocket launcher in his right, he used his left to hip fire his DC-15A rifle. His targeting system aligned with his HUD helped with the hip firing, but he still needed to manually aim the RPS-6. Shadow was ahead of him, clinging onto the canopy of an AT-TE walker.

The Shadow Trooper Marshal Commander swung himself up top, slinging his DC-17M to his back and drawing his Dark Sword. He stabbed it into the top of the tank, trying to cut through. He turned around quickly to see groups of troopers coming at him. Shadow pulled his sword out of the canopy and swung hard, knocking the first four clones off the tank. The last one though got his elbow right in Shadow's chest. Shadow fell back off the tank, arching himself back into a flip, landing on his feet. As soon as he landed, he drew his sidearm and put three rounds into the clone trooper's chest. Shadow's troubles were not over, as the the four ball-turrets mounted on the front of the tank took aim at him.

"Shadow, get back!" Designer called, aiming his rocket launcher.

Shadow immediately evaded to his right, just as Designer fired. The rocket sailed right below the canopy, blowing it right open, barbecuing the pilot seat. The tank merely collapsed on its front, and lay there.

"Designer, on your right!" Shadow cried.

Designer turned to his left, seeing the AT-TE walker aiming its main gun at him. He aimed the RPS-6 and pulled the trigger, only this time, nothing came out. Designer glanced at the ammunition counter on his HUD.

_Empty_.

Luckily, Shadow had fired a grenade at it, impacting on the forward ball-turrets on the left side of the tank, just beside the canopy. Shadow was already sprinting to get closer, firing another grenade as soon as he was within optimum range. The grenade sailed and impacted on the glass, then the canopy blew itself inward.

Designer turned to his right and took aim with his rifle at a stunned clone trooper on the ground looking up at him. He pulled the trigger, hearing the unsatisfying click of emptiness. Frantically, Designer threw his empty RPS-6 at the clone as he reached for a rifle. The clone, stunned by the attack, was then unprepared for when Designer drew his vibrosword and slashed him across the chest. The clone sprawled on his back, still reaching for a weapon. Designer ended the soldier's life by driving the vibrosword into the clone's chest.

_Whizz!_

A shot glazed off of Designer's shoulder, knocking off a mounted ammunition clip. Designer drew his sidearm from his chestplate and shot the shooter in the head. After making sure the area he was in was momentarily clear, he holstered the sidearm in his webbing and sheathed his vibrosword.

"I'm out of rockets." Designer said to Shadow as he he jogged over. Designer unstrapped the two DC-15S Carbines from his thighs and clicked off the safety. "We need that backup now."

"I've got two grenades in the anti armor attachment." Shadow stated. "I've also got three thermal detonators."

"Shadow, we've got tanks coming on both flanks of the beach." Designer explained. "We are going to be surrounded if we don't go for the forest."

"Tested said the forest is occupied by enemy platoons." Shadow shook his head.

"Better the infantry than the tanks." Designer shot back. "I'd rather get shot in the chest and take a few with me rather than get blown up before I can take a step."

"We have to hold out until Ironwood is through," Shadow stated firmly.

"Waiting for reinforcements and holding a landing site is not worth getting blown up over!"

"Reinforcements not being able to get on the ground isn't worth sitting in the bushes getting blown up either." Shadow shot back.

Designer sighed. "The second those tanks get a cross fire on us, I'm rushing that treeline with whoever follows me." Designer said with a firm promise.

"It won't come to that." Shadow nodded. "Keep fighting."

-Tested 3rd Person POV-

_Blam_!

Another clone fell when Tested pulled the trigger. Tested was proned near a downed AT-TE, providing cover fire for team RWBY. As their numbers began to thin, they started to crouch and remain hidden within the bushes. Their white and shiny armor did not help them blend in. It was something Tested never appreciated from Republic equipment.

On the other hand, team RWBY was making progress. They attacked together, coordinating their strikes on the same leg. The way the moved together reminded Tested of the Republic Commando squads. The four member team RWBY resembled that of a standard four man Commando squad. Commandos were trained to work together since birth, having the one principle of teamwork drilled into their minds like it was another cell in their body. It made them effective. It made them look damn near unstoppable.

Tested train of thought was cut off by the two small impacts in the sand near his face. He activated his semblance, imagining a dome forming around his upper torso. Three more shots impacted on the shield. Tested traced the round easily back towards an AT-TE near the treeline, all the way to the white and red armored Nova ARC perched atop the walker. Tested recognized her immediately as Seoul, both by the markings of her armor and by the more feminine build. She stood in a more raised position and started spamming the triggers on her dual DC-17Bs. The rounds impacted on Tested's shield so fast, he couldn't keep track of her ammunition. She still maintained her accuracy though. If Tested's shield wasn't there, he would look like a smoked nuna.

Feeling his shield weaken, he rolled himself back into cover and let it dissipate. Tested still heard the impacting tibanna rounds impacting on the hull of the walker he used as cover. They continued only for a full second after Tested took cover. Reloading his DC-17M sniper attachment, he peeked out, keeping his shield in front of him. Then he saw why Seoul had stopped firing. Seoul was pointing at him, and while he couldn't tell what the Nova was saying, the fact that the main cannon of the walker was swiveling towards him gave him a pretty good idea.

Tested cussed under his breath and leaped away from his spot, feeling the heat wave of the blast pass over his back. He turned back to his original spot to see it in smoldering metal.

A close by battle caught his attention. Another team of students were attempting to take down a walker. Two of the students were zooming and running strafe attacks on the legs. The other two were firing at the main tank canopy, trying to get their dust rounds through the blast resistant glass. They were doing little to slow it down. Tested noticed the main cannon taking aim at the students firing at long range. Immediately he brought himself up into a crouched position, lining up the scope on the DC-17M in its sniper mode on the exposed gunner up top.

_Blam!_

The shot impacted on the gunner's control screen. The gunner froze in panic, turning around to see what had been firing at him. Reluctantly, Tested lined up the sights again, waiting the full three seconds to aim properly before squeezing the trigger. The tank gunner's head lurched forward, then the body went limp. A smoking hole resided from the back of the gunner's helmet.

One of the students strafing at the walker's legs went past the front canopy, and with her staff like weapon, she focused a blow onto one of the forward ball turrets, turning it into a dented sphere. The students from long range then started charging. One of them had an assault rifle, now morphing into a club. The other had dual gauntlet like guns with blades mounted vertically on the bottom of the barrels. It reminded Tested of Yang's Ember Cecilias, except these were more focused for long range combat. Together, all four began to attack the tank weapons, leaving the front ball turrets offline. Their victory was short lived.

Bright blue large laser projectiles started hitting the walker, blowing off bits of armor, toppling the tank. The shots hit under, around, and on the tank. Tested turned to find out that Seoul's walker had been firing on their own. Regardless, the tank toppled over and the area around it started becoming engulfed with sand. Tested began to sprint over to check for survivors.

-Seoul 3rd Person POV-

"Confirmed hit on point three-five, Ma'am." The clone gunner announced.

Seoul's rangefinder was folded down over her right eye. She zoomed in on the wreckage of the Republic tank she ordered the gunner to destroy.

"Good hit." Seoul grinned under helmet.

The battle around another walker drew Seoul's eyes. Four girls were struggling to bring down the beetle like walker. Seoul zoomed in with her range finder, recognizing one of them.

"Blake…" Seoul muttered.

"Ma'am?" the clone asked in confusion.

"Continue to press your attack." Seoul ordered. "I'm going to deal with-"

A sudden thrust shoved Seoul forward. Seoul hit the platform wrists first, using the momentum of the unexpected attack to somersault back onto her feet. She whirled to face her opponent, seeing a large, bulky man in a green tunic, green shoulder plate, and a massive orange sword. He picked up the clone gunner from his seat and tossed him to his partner, a girl dressed heavily in designer clothing, wearing a black berret and aviator sunglasses. She slammed a suitcase into the gunner's gut. Seoul heard the crack of ribs from where she stood. The girl then spun and backhanded the gunner with her suitcase, sending him flying.

"You're going to regret that." Seoul smirked as her range finder automatically folded up. Her hands dropped close to her sidearms. "So how do you two expect this to go?"

The large man charged, swinging his blade high. Seoul rolled under the attack, ending up behind him. She instinctively jumped when she predicted his next low swing. She brought her arms up to block the girl's punch. Seoul dropped to avoid her spinning attack with her suitcase, grabbing her vibroblades sheathed to her shins. She rose up into an uppercut, forcing the girl to leap back in defense. Seoul immediately whirled around in the same motion, blocking the large man's swing. A loud vibrated clang resounded as their blades met. The man reached out with his freehand and grabbed Seoul by the shoulder, lifting her off the ground.

_Foolish move._

Seoul jammed both her daggers into the man's forearm, tearing flesh and muscle like it was butter. The man screamed, dropping Seoul. Seoul took the opportunity to jam her foot into the man's crotch. In agony, the man dropped to his knees.

"Yatsuhashi!" the girl cried, naming the man.

She was coming behind Seoul now. She swung her suitcase at mid height. Seoul sidestepped away from the attack, then deflected the next one away. The girl spun into a roundhouse kick, but Seoul was faster, raising her knee to stop the attack. Seoul leaned back more and twitched her leg to straighten, kicking the girl in the back. Seoul, keeping her momentum, angled more, twirling midair into another kick, launching her heel into the girl's jaw.

"Coco!" the man cried at his partner as he saw her slam into the hull of the tank face first.

The one named Yatsuhashi grabbed his sword and spun into a low swing that Seoul jumped over, then into a mid height swing. Seoul blocked the last attack, sliding closer to bring her elbow down on the the pressure point above the shoulder. Yatsuhashi grunted, dropping his sword as if his entire right side of his body just went numb. Seoul slashed as his torso once, then sidekicked him off the walker.

Seoul turned back to the surprised Coco, who watched as her partner was kicked off. In anger, she hefted her suitcase and let it unfold. As soon as Seoul noticed it folding into a chain gun, she let go of her blades. She slowed down everything around her mentally, focusing on the appearing chain gun as her hands fell to her sidearms. Just as the chain gun managed to form, Seoul's sidearms had taken aim, and she spammed the triggers so fast, emptying the weapons in three seconds flat. Every last shot impacted on the chain gun, and by the time Coco was capable of firing, Seoul had already blasted the main mechanisms to pieces, rendering the cannon useless. Coco looked down at her weapon in confusion, not ready for Seoul as she punched her square in the face. Seoul felt the crack of the sunglasses she broke as the punch followed through. The force of the blow knocked Coco off the tank. Seoul turned back to retrieve her blades then waited for another clone gunner to hop onto the main cannon before departing into the bushes.

_It was time to settle an old fight._

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

Jared was the first out of the air vent, kicking off the grill and rolling onto the bridge of the Acclamator.

"What the?!" A clone technician that Jared landed right in front of him yelled.

Jared drew his Katanas and thrusted both of them square into the clone's chest. He pulled them out and kicked the dying trooper into another that had drawn a weapon. The stunned shooter was not ready for Jared's dual slash.

The bridge became a killing field. Jared, TJ and GT slashed, sliced, and stabbed, not bothering ti listen to their cries. There was no mercy for the men that ended civilian lives. Together the trio cleared the bridge, killing every officer there, until it came to the last three.

"Stop!" One of them barked with a voice of authority.

The loyalty genes flowing through Jared's blood forced him to stop. Jared ran the Officer's ID through the database. His HUD identified the officer as Marshal Commander Felwinter. He and the last two remaining officers had their sidearms drawn.

"You!" Felwinter growled. "You swore an oath to the Republic!"

"_You_ attacked _us_, Commander." Jared shot back. "Which side you are on, I don't care. What I do care about is where was the mercy when the people of Vale were bombed in their homes?"

Jared let the Commander's eyes boil. He held his breath, and time slowed. Jared ran towards the three officers, slicing their pistols in half. He exhaled, and everything returned to real time. The twins lunged, GT killing the officer to the right of Felwinter, and TJ killing the officer to the left. Jared sidestepped around the Marshal and flicked his Katanas at the back of his knees. The Marshal let out a cry of pain, then dropped to his knees.

"That's what I thought." Jared scoffed and slit the Marshal's throat. "Clear," Jared stated as he sheathed his Katanas. "Seal those doors," Jared motioned at GT. "TJ, cut power to the turbo lasers."

The twins went on about their tasks with a purpose. Jared made his way to the main navigation console.

"Doors sealed!" GT called out.

The rumbling of the ship's heavy turbo laser cannons ceased as TJ said, "Power supply to weapons have been cut!"

"Jam all ship interior communications!" Jared ordered.

Jared eyed the navigation system, the ship set to proceed straight into the Atlesian firing line. Ironwood had already lost nearly half of his fleet. Jared's plan would save the rest though. He cancelled the intended course of the cruiser, arching the pathway to the far right, right into the path of the other one. He locked the coordinates with a grin.

"Shipborne communications jammed." GT said.

"TJ, transfer all power to the engines." Jared ordered. "Now let's get the hell out of here!"

-Ironwood 3rd Person POV-

"This is the _Reverence!_ We're hit! We're-!"

That was the last transmission Ironwood heard from the _Reverence_ before it was bombarded by heavy cannons. Shadow had been right about the enemy weapon range and effectiveness.

"Concentrate fire!" Ironwood barked. "All ships, target the warship on the port!"

Lasers spanned from every last Atlesian Airship, hitting their target. There was an explosion and a ripple in the shielding, followed by scoring marks, but compared to the amount of punishment that ship was dealing back to them, the Atlesian air fleet had barely scratched them.

Ironwood watched in grief as one of the warships move closer and opened up on the _Dawn_ and the_ Vestal_. The ships didn't even last more than two full seconds being peppered with laser fire. The ships burned and blew apart, breaking altitude and sinking into a headfirst dive into the ocean.

"It's no use!" Argos gritted his teeth. "We can barely penetrate their shielding, let alone their hull."

A large boom resounded in the ship frame, followed by a rumble on the bridge. Ironwood gripped onto a console to keep his balance.

"We're hit!" Yana announced.

"Damage report!" Ironwood demanded.

"We lost all control on the portside engines!" Amber replied. "Dust propulsion systems intact. Weapon cooling systems offline! They are reaching the boiling point!"

Ironwood saw the Y-shaped ships he learned to hate, streak across the viewport, re-angling themselves back towards them.

"Enemy bombers coming for another pass!" Argos warned.

"Yana, hard to starboard!" Ironwood barked.

"Hard to starboard Aye!" the Captain responded.

Ironwood moved over to the weapon console, eyeing the overheating indicator on the left as he targeted the trio of Y-shaped bombers. He only had enough time to target two of them. The ship shuddered at Yana made the hard Starboard turn. Ironwood opened fire. Two lasers protruding from the sides of their airship lanced out, striking the lead fighter and one of the wingmen. The last one, surprised by the attack, broke off immediately.

"Great shot General!" Argos cheered. "Enemy bombers breaking off their attack."

"Sir!" Lieutenant Piko called. "We just lost the _Fidel_ and the _Nearon_!" The Lieutenant paused to listen over the channels once more. "Now the _Decorum_ is down! _Purger_ is going to break off for safety."

Ironwood frowned. That was the ninth ship he has lost today. He was losing too many men.

"Fighter squadrons are being torn apart!" Piko bit his lip. "We lost our cover fire."

Ironwood looked towards the oncoming twin vessels, approaching with barely a scratch. The battle was lost. Jared's team had failed. If Ironwood didn't turn his fleet around right now, there would be nothing stopping those ships from turning Vale into molten slag.

"Piko, give the order for the fleet to break off." Ironwood ordered. "Get us out of here Yana."

"General, look!" Argos exclaimed.

Ironwood looked out of the viewport, seeing one of the enemy warships start veering off path. It's weapons had stopped firing.

_No way…_

"Sir, enemy ships are in a collision course!" Argos stated.

_Can it be?_

The ship that had veered off its path, waiting until it was pointed directly at the other before jolting like a bullet right into the other one. Both ships blew up and imploded, erupting in flames. It seemed the like the ships were swallowing or collapsing in on each other.

The sight brought the entire bridge into a cheer. Ironwood even found himself smiling.

"Jared to Ironwood!" Jared's voice came up on the battlenet channel. "Come in!"

Piko put him through as soon as he received the physical gesture from Ironwood.

"Reading you loud and clear Jared." Ironwood replied.

"Consider communications unjammed," Jared said. "I recommend pressing your attack."

"Understood."

"By the way," Jared added. "Please send someone to pick us up. I've set up a locator beacon."

"Affirmative." Ironwood acknowledged. "Excellent work."

Ironwood shut the link frantically to begin barking orders.

"Amber, launch all dropships!" Ironwood yelled. "Notify all fighters squadrons to escort them. All airships should be providing long range cover fire. Yana, bring us close so we can deploy mechs."

"Aye sir!" The bridge replied in unison.

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

_BOOM! _

A blast to Shadow's right knocked him right off his feet. He cringed at the hard thump when he hit the ground awkwardly on his shoulder. His ears started ringing and his vision was a storm of blue strobes and kicked up sand. He bit down on his teeth hard and blinked, forcing himself to stay awake. Shaking off the stun, he rolled onto all fours, checking his motion tracker. He had friendlies dashing all around him, his motion tracker barely keeping up with their movements. One slowed down as it approached.

"Shadow!" The familiar voice of Blake called.

He looked up in relief at the sight of his Faunus companion. Shadow got up on one knee by the time Blake reached him. The heavy dust discharges from Yang's shotgun styled Ember Cecilias gave him the sign that she was behind him.

"I'm fine." Shadow assured Blake as he reached for his fallen

DC-17M.

"Walkers within firing range!" Shadow heard Designer cry.

The Tech Officer was dragging a body with him, firing away with one of his DC-15S Carbines. Be brought the body into cover with a bunch of students crouched near a sand mound the move over to Shadow.

"It's now or never!" Designer stated. "We get off this beach or we get blown to smithereens!"

A cry from a student came from the remains of a downed walker. The cries were followed by the voice Shadow recognized as Tested.

"Shadow!" The Sergeant called. "Shadow! Over here!"

Shadow beckoned Yang, Blake and Designer to follow. The dust was being kicked up hard. The tanks were bombarding their position with heavy cannons. Shadow had to squint and blink less periodically to avoid damaging his eyes. He took a few glances at his motion tracker. The Third Systems Army troopers had left the treeline and were making their way through the beach. They were closing on the downed walker where Tested was.

"Designer, take the right side!" Shadow motioned.

"On it!" Designer acknowledged as he moved to the right of the walker, opening fire into the cloud of sand. Designer fired as if the DC-15S was automatic, regardless of the fact that it was a semi-automatic weapon.

"Tested, watch the left!" Shadow ordered.

"Yes sir!" Tested nodded and went to the left side of the walker. He too started opening fire with his DP23.

Shadow looked around their side and saw what Tested had called them for. One of the students was pinned under the center leg. He seemed to be caught from the waist down. Judging by the impact, it had slammed down on his legs from the waist down.

"Get him out!" Shadow motioned to Blake and Yang.

Ruby and Weiss were nearby, both shooting into the storm, moving closer and closer to Shadow's position.

Shadow was atop the walker with his Deece in its assault mode, letting shots fly in bursts. He couldn't pinpoint an exact location for every target he shot at in this sand cloud, but he could estimate a guess close enough. Shadow felt the walker creak as Blake and Yang freed the student, dragging him off.

An explosion impacted right in front of the two, the shock wave knocking Blake off her feet. Yang crouched as it hit, just only falling onto one knee. The student was still crying in pain, and the clones were still advancing.

"Those tanks are providing cover fire!" Designer exclaimed as he took cover from an explosion, with sand and heat flying past him.

A shout came from the left side of the tank. Shadow turned quickly to see Tested on the ground, in the open, stunned from a blast.

"Weiss! Cover!" Shadow barked.

Weiss and Ruby dashed towards Tested. Weiss created a mound of ice as cover while Ruby started suppressing enemy fire. Shadow grabbed Tested by the forearm and dragged the stunned Sergeant behind cover. Designer was already treating the injured student, jabbing a needle into his neck for a bacta injection.

"This is it!" Designer shook his head. He looked up at Shadow. "We're surrounded!"

Shadow checked his motion tracker. Designer was right. They were completely surrounded with minimal cover. Shadow couldn't tell how many students were still alive. If they were alive, they weren't moving.

"General Ironwood to all students!" A voice crackled over the commlink. "Move away from the enemy armored units! Now!"

Shadow was surprised to hear Ironwood's voice. That meant one very good thing; the Acclamators are down. Jared and the twins were successful. Shadow gave his silent thanks to the trio as silhouettes of beetle like creatures through the sand cloud turned to fireballs. Crimson red beams streaked from the sky, which was now clearing up to reveal the large Atlesian airships.

"We have broken through!" Ironwood stated over the channel. "I repeat, we have broken through. Press the attack now!"

The jet engines mounted on the Atlesian dropships cleared the smoke as they came in to drop their cargo. The twin mounted rotary cannons on the front of the VTOLs began mowing down the clones that were now exposed to gatling gunfire. Shadow joined in the efforts, along with Designer and the rest of the students that remained, killing off the retreating white and orange armored men.

Shadow looked back onto the beach and saw platoons of Atlesian Knight-200 androids moving towards them, accompanied by small fire teams of Atlesian soldiers. The lead teams moved past Shadow's position, taking the beach all the way up to the treeline. Shadow waited on the medical wave, making sure the injured student they found was attended to.

"Injuries found from the waist down," Shadow told the combat medics quickly. "Might have some considerable bruising and internal bleeding. Scan before moving."

Shadow looked to the front of the beach, where Atlesian Paladins were being unloaded. He looked over at team RWBY, Tested and Designer.

"Ready to finish this?" Shadow asked.

"Definitely." Blake replied.

Shadow scanned the group. Tested and Designer were ready for anything, and just by scanning the faces of the girls, they were ready to fight for Remnant. At this moment, he couldn't have asked for a better team.

"Let's move out!"


	30. Chapter 30

-Shash 3rd Person POV-

Shash heard the loud booms off to the beach, joined with the rumbling engine noise of warships. The treeline concealed the view of the big picture, but he ignored it for now. The students had destroyed a large amount of the anti air guns arrays, and it was unfortunate most of them resided near the beach where the main conflict was residing.

"Sir!" A Sergeant came up to Shash. "We just lost contact with the _Caleb _and the _Tiphmeister!_"

Shash turned towards the Sergeant in a slow menace.

"What… did… you… say?" Shash growled.

"We've rebooted the commlink system several times," The Sergeant kept his cool. Shash wasn't surprised. This was a true soldier. "We're running the long range scanners to see what is the problem."

"Notify me." Shash ordered, then turned his attention to another platoon linking up with an armored division of tanks. "Hold up!" Shash barked. "Defensive perimeter on the base! Pull the tanks away from the treeline! Hit them from afar!"

The lead man of the platoon nodded and started signaling the others. Shash turned to the treeline in the direction of the engine noise, flipping his rangefinder down. He magnified to the area just above the trees.

"Sir!" The same Sergeant came up to him once more. "Long range scanners picked up the _Tiphmeister's _signal from within the _Caleb…_ below sea level…"

"I see…" Shash frowned as he caught sight of the remains of the Atlesian air fleet. "Get on the long range commlink and recall all troops to base. Get as many reserved AA guns online as you can."

"Yes sir!" The Sergeant made a crisp salute, then sprinted back to the command center.

Shash clicked his link open to Seoul.

"Seoul, status?" he asked.

"Enemy reinforcements have arrived!" Seoul sounded as if she was fighting. The sound of blaster fire in the background was almost drowning out her voice. "We're pulling back! Did I miss anything?"

"Acclamators are down." Shash grumbled.

"Yeah, I got that memo!" Seoul grunted.

"How many Atlesian ships did you see?" Shash asked.

"Nine or ten, I think." Seoul replied in a hurry. "A lot less than what they originally had."

The original attack force was twenty strong. According to scans, each ship was fully loaded. The loss of the Acclamators was devastating, but they had cut the enemy attack force in half.

"Get back to the base." Shash ordered. "We're just going to have to hold them off."

"How long do you estimate?" Seoul asked.

"No more than seven hours." Shash smirked. "Just get back here."

Shash cut the link and switched over to a direct link with the artifact room.

"Commander Shash to artifact station," Shash stated. "I need a status update."

"We've just established radio contact between both sides." A clone technician replied. "We are working on amplifying the signal."

"Let me know as soon as you make contact. Shash out."

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

"Concentrate fire on the center canopy!" Shadow barked at a group of Atlesian Paladins.

Another blue round ripped through the trees and engulfed a Paladin in flames.

"Take it down!" Shadow yelled as he dived into the bushes.

He heard the combined firepower of the Atlesian Paladins main cannons open up on the AT-TE walker just a hundred meters ahead of them. Shadow risked looking up with all the blue bolts and dust rounds flying everywhere, seeing heavy dust rounds impact on the forward pilot canopy of the walker. The cockpit burned up for a few seconds, then spewed out smoke as it collapsed.

Two Atlesian soldiers died somewhere off to his right. He heard their screams. It was a bit hard to believe they were winning with all the casualties.

Shadow leveled his DC-17M at the receding Republic line and started spraying. The clones were unnecessarily bunched up, most likely due to the heavy push being created by the Atlesian forces.

"Don't fall back!" Designer yelled at a group of Atlesian soldiers. "Push forward!"

Designer had his DC-15Ss aimed straight ahead, spamming the triggers as fast as he could. The group of soldiers followed him, forming up in an arrow as they steadily pushed up through the brush. The Paladins followed, providing long range cover fire. Shadow zoomed in on the retreating enemy line. The clones were putting everything they had, getting shot as they ran, or blown up as they took position. The Paladins shoulders opened up, revealing it's missile launchers. The mechs all fired, streaking missiles into the clones. The forest ahead turned into a fireball. Shadow's HUD automatically darker the scenery to protect his eyes, then faded back to normal. The forest ahead was cleared out, without a piece of life ahead.

Finally, they were through the forest, only there was one problem; they were still about two hundred meters from the base. The area surrounding had been clear cutted.

"Bunker!" Shadow called out thoughtlessly as his eyes caught sight of it.

The bunkers were just in front of the enemy base, and they were opening up on them.

"Stay to the treeline!" Shadow ordered.

Shadow took aim with his 17M and fired single shots, trying to get a good round through. It was no use. He was only revealing his position to the E-Web mounted inside. Shadow pressed his back against a tree, hearing the salvos of heavy ionized tibanna rounds impacting on the trunk. He looked to his right and saw a Paladin advancing. It didn't get very far, as it burst into flames just as it left the tree line.

"Heavy cannons opening fire!" Designer yelled. "Those walkers are tearing us apart!"

"No use charging across an open field." Shadow stated as he switched his DC-17M into its sniper mode.

"No use sitting here getting blown to bits." Designer said back as he attached his DC-15Ss back to his thighs and unslung his DC-15X.

"Just focus on the bunkers." Shadow waved him off. "Wait for aircover!"

As Shadow started picking off men in the bunkers, he ran his scope over to the sides and as far as he could see behind the base. Things were going as planned. The Atlesian forces had them surrounded.

"We are pinned!" Blake called out to Shadow as she arrived at his tree. Tested and the others were just behind them.

"Wait for it." Shadow assured her.

A few moments later, several beams came from the sky above, impacting on the front lines of the base.

-Ironwood 3rd Person POV-

"Fire again!" Ironwood commanded.

"Aye sir!" Argos replied as he manned the weapons console.

Quickly, the Atlesian fleet was firing on enemy fortifications on the ground. Most of the enemy fighters had been cleared out, but few were still zooming around, attacking as a fly would a human.

"Heat blooms on the ground!" Argos called out.

Ironwood squinted at the enemy base below, seeing strobes of light within its fortifications. The sudden rumble of the ship told him what it was.

"Anti aircraft guns!" Amber announced as the ship rumbled again. "We can't take the punishment!"

"Drop the remains of our forces and pull back!" Ironwood ordered.

A close by explosion drew his eyes to another Atlesian Airship that got hit just in the right spot. The engines sparked for a few seconds after the cruiser started burning up, then faded away. The smoking ship reeled in towards the forest, damaged beyond repair.

"Send out those fighters!"

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Shadow smiled as the tanks and bunkers surrounding the base were turned into heaps of smouldering metal. The smile quickly changed as he saw weapon fire from within the base going up towards the cruisers. It appears they had more AA guns. But Ironwood had done them a big favor. It was time to take advantage of it.

Shadow clicked his commlink into the Atlesian communications channel.

"This is it!" Shadow yelled. "Enemy fortifications are down! All units, attack!"

Shadow heard the _"hoorah!"_ from the soldiers as they charged. The mechs led the attack, firing away at the reforming Republic line. Shadow was sprinting as well, firing in bursts, weapon leveled straight ahead. As he sprinted, he heard soldiers getting shot down to his left and right. The line almost halted with this incoming fire. Then he noticed something. For some reason, the shots were impacting on a transparent blue wall in front of him.

"Don't stop advancing!" Tested yelled, his arms stretched right in front of him.

Shadow nodded towards the Sergeant.

"Tighten up behind the shield!"

As the line advanced, Atlesian Androids started falling from the sky, landing in rows in front of them. The robots advanced, firing as they marched into the enemy line. This was it.

-Shash 3rd Person POV-

"Concentrate fire on one cruiser at a time!" Shash yelled at the AA gunners. He looked up, seeing the concentrated fire of the cannons tear apart dropships and take down Atlesian cruisers.

Shash heard an explosion come from the east side of the base perimeter. He turned towards it, seeing lines and lines of Atlesian Knights marching into the base. Shash walked towards it, drawing his DC-17M. He began firing in single shots. These Knights were as incompetent as the Separatist droids. The droids at least took cover. The Knights just kept advancing. Shash shot down four, five, then eight before he lobbed a grenade into their ranks.

"Tighten our line!" Shash barked at the reinforcing clone troopers. "Fall back to the Command Center!"

-Blake 3rd Person POV-

Team RWBY mainly stuck with Shadow, Tested and Designer. They were through the enemy fortifications, and the battle went from long range to close quarters. This is where Blake and the other students had no problem.

Blake lunged into a squad of clones and spun, knocking the clones into all directions. Another came in with a rifle, trying to jam the stock into her chest, but she flipped over him and swept her leg right under. The clone fell back first, and Blake kicked him across the face.

Another trooper came from behind, firing as he charged. Blake dived under his shots and leaped up, driving her knee up his jaw.

_Wham!_

As soon as Blake landed, a clone tackled her. Her Gambol Shroud transformed into its pistol mode as she tried to jam the barrel into his face. The clone was stronger than her though, as he grabbed the pistol hand by the wrist. Blake struggled against him, firing as she pushed the barrel closer and closer. She used her other hand and put it against his face, pushing the White helmet away. The clone's free hand fell to his sidearm. Blake had to act now. She brought her knee up into the soldier's groin as hard as she could. She gasped in pain as she only heard a crack and no suitable reaction from the clone. Still, the unexpected attack made him loosen his grip on her arm. She wrestled the weapon free and jammed the muzzle into his shoulder, firing as she pushed him off. She could feel the dust rounds tearing through armor and flesh, along with hearing the painful screams of the clone.

All of a sudden, a black armored arm grabbed the clone by the back of the neck and pulled him away. It was Shadow. The clone scrambled on the ground for a weapon as Shadow slashed him across his chest.

"You okay?" Shadow turned towards her, his face barely visible with his hood.

"Yes." Blake replied.

"Go take out the Anti Aircraft guns." Shadow said. "Support the Atlesian soldiers in taking the base. Designer, Tested and I are making a push for the Command Center."

"Got it." Blake nodded.

Blake was about to move into action, but Shadow caught her by the arm.

"Be safe." He said.

Blake gave him a smile before rushing off to her team.

"Yang!" Blake called to her teammate.

Yang slammed a clone to the ground before turning to look at Blake. Blake transformed Gambol Shroud into kusarigama form and threw it at Yang. Yang caught the bladed end by the grip and pulled. Blake stretched herself and braced as she was thrown into four clones feet first, sending them flying. Blake looked up and saw another wave coming. In response, she pulled on her end as hard as she could. She felt the weight move on the other end. Yang went flying into

their line, concentrating her energy combined with her Ember Cecilia into the ground when she landed. The shock wave sent the squad in all directions. Blake noticed off to her right as Ruby and Weiss took down an White Fang commandeered Paladin. Weiss froze the legs solid. The Paladin, unable to move, swiveled on its torso, trying to hit the girls. Then the two attacked together, breaking one leg clean off. Blake nodded at Yang, and the two charged at the other leg. The two concentrated their attack, shattering the other one. The Paladin topped over, And the team all struck the cockpit at once. The combined attack revealed the White Fang soldier piloting it. Blake zoomed towards him and yanked him out of his seat. She kicked him towards Yang, who was ready to send him away with an uppercut. The Faunus went flying into a shack.

"Hello Blake." A recognizable female voice came from behind her.

As soon as Blake realized who it was, she swung her blade. The new opponent moved swiftly, leaning back to avoid Blake's attack, then leaning forward into an elbow attack to Blake's gut. Blake stumbled back from the attack. She looked up and saw the recognized armor of Seoul.

"Miss me, bitch?" The Nova taunted.

Blake growled and charged. Seoul didn't have any weapons out. All she did was sidestep and deflect Blake's attacks away. Blake ran past her with a strike leaving a copy of herself behind. She doubled back and struck again, doing the same method over and over. It was no use. Seoul knew exactly where she was at all times. On Blake's last attack, Seoul came low and cross lined Blake. Blake fell onto her back, rolling away to avoid Seoul's stomp. Blake got to her feet and threw a counter swing. Seoul stepped back. Blake charged again, spinning into kicks and strikes. She almost got Seoul off balance, or so she thought. In the midst of a perpendicular swing, Seoul came under the arch, then went up, grabbing Blake by the neck and slamming her to the ground.

"Foolish attempt." Seoul sneered as she brought her fist up.

Then Seoul tipped her head up the slightest, then leaned back matrix style. Ruby's Scythe passed right over her. As Seoul came back up, she didn't expect Yang, who punched her right in the gut. Seoul skidded back a few meters, then cartwheeled over Ruby's spinning Scythe. Weiss came from her flank, lunging right towards her. Seoul turned and slapped Weiss's blade away as if it wasn't sharp at all. The unexpected counter threw Weiss off balance and Seoul jammed her knee into Weiss's gut. Seoul turned to counter Ruby, who came spinning into another attack. She leaned right to avoid the swinging scythe and sidestepped closer to the wielder. Ruby was spinning to counter Seoul, but Seoul was faster, already side kicking Ruby away. Then Yang came. Seoul, deflected her first punch. With every punch, Yang fired her Ember Cecilias. Seoul deflected and blocked each one. Yang turned into a roundhouse kick, which Seoul stepped back from, then leaned back to add more force into her oncoming roundhouse punch. Seoul brought her left arm up and let the roundhouse punch skid past. Then she grabbed Yang's arm by the elbow with her right arm and reeled her in close, using her left arm to backhand the blond student across the face. Yang stumbled back, stunned from the attack. Seoul straight up booted her down, several meters away. Blake came up now, moving to avenge her comrade, but Seoul somehow punched her right in the face, despite her timed attack.

Blake rolled into a crouch and looked up at the approaching Seoul.

"You thought it would be that easy?" Seoul laughed. "No. I didn't spend the entire duration of my life training to be beaten by a random animal hybrid girl."

"You won't win." Blake gritted her teeth and readied her blades.

"C'mon Blake," Seoul chuckled. "We both know you can't take me on alone."

"Except she's not alone." The voice of Ruby came from behind her. Blake looked to her flanks and saw the rest of her team form up.

"Yeah!" Yang added.

"Four on one." Weiss announced.

"Finally," Seoul replied evilly as she drew her vibroblades from her shin holsters. "A challenge."

-Tested 3rd Person POV-

"Tested, nine o'clock!"

Tested turned towards his left as Designer warned him, his DP23 at hip level. An orange marked clones was jumping at him with a vibroblade, and Tested pulled the trigger with the barrel aimed at the center of his chest. He had let the attacker get really close, so close that he could feel the heat from the shot discharge bounce back and hit him. Still, the impact jumped his attacker, then sent him flat on his back, motionless. Seeing more targets following, Tested brought his DP23 up to aim properly, and opened fire. He dropped two clones before he raised his shield. The TSA troopers were absolutely confused why their shots hadn't been hitting him. They decided to stand up further from their dedicated cover. Then Tested had an idea. Still maintaining the majority of his shield, he made an iris for his barrel to fire through. Tested took aim and fired away. The TSA troopers were unprepared for what had hit them, and they laid on the ground with smoking torsos.

"Tested c'mon!" Shadow was yelling at him.

Tested still saw more clones coming. He didn't bear wasting his time though. Instead, he primed a thermal grenade, tossed it and ran, not bothering to see the outcome of the blast.

Shadow had point, Designer had the right, and Tested was on the left. The three charged in an arrow formation towards the Command Center.

The area was a full blown war zone. Armored combat and explosions had kicked up the dirt, slightly hindering visibility on the field. There was no enemy line. There was no organized attack. Some opponents fought back to back, not knowing they had enemies behind them. At this point, it was just search and destroy. This type of chaos is exactly what the group needed to get to the Command Center. They were going to take out Shash.

Together the trio fought their way, sprinting straight through. Shadow had his 17M trained forward, Designer had dropped his Carbines for his dual sidearms, focusing on the right side, and Tested had the left. Tested blasted at every clone that came within firing range. He ducked as a shot rang past his head, then fired low, hitting the attacker in the gut. The next one he shot ended up with a burnt out helmet.

"Hold!" Shadow called out.

Tested skidded to a stop, seeing a bright flare coming towards the group. Quickly, he attached his shotgun to his back and raised his hands, imagining the shield.

_Boom!_

The impact made Tested drop to one knee, but it held, giving the trio enough time to take cover behind a group of crates. Shadow and Designer were already returning fire. Tested equipped his DP23 and poked out to see their opponents. It was a platoon of White Fang, coming from their left flank. It didn't explain where the flare came from. The Faunus were overconfident from the start, allowing Shadow, Designer, and Tested to spray rounds all over their line. Half were killed by the time the group started reloading.

"Go for the CC!" Tested stated. "I'll take care of them."

"Alone?" Shadow asked. "We could finish this and move on."

"You can stop Shash first before he starts taking out strategically positions in our forces," Tested pointed out. "Hopefully he's still at the CC."

"No offense, Tested," Designer had his hands up in defense. "But you aren't exactly Special Operations, even if you are wearing the armor."

"I said I was better than average,Designer," Tested corrected him. "And how many of these Faunus do you think equal the fighting capability of the standard Clone?"

Designer looked down for a moment before saying, "Good point."

"I don't think it's a good idea to leave you alone." Shadow still disagreed.

"Shash is an expert in tactics, sabotaging, defensive and offensive strategy. You really want someone like that running around on the battlefield?"

Tested could see the expression under Shadow's hood with the tricked out Heads Up Display. He seemed to bite his lip for a moment before deciding.

"Come back in one piece Sergeant." He said.

"Absolutely sir." Tested nodded as he primed a thermal. "Go!" He yelled as he chucked it.

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Shadow shouldered into a clone, shooting him as he sprawled on the ground. He looked up and leveled his rifle instinctively, shooting down two more. Shadow eyed Designer to his right. He strolled past an entire squad, somehow doing this unnoticed, then shot them all down before they even knew what hit them. A clone poked out from cover, not expecting Designer in front of them. Designer jammed the muzzle of his DC -15S carbine in his face and fried the trooper's helmet straight through.

Shadow sprayed down at an oncoming group, his Deece clicking empty after five rounds. Shadow attached it to his back and drew his Dark Sword, throwing himself into the ranks. Shadow slashed the first trooper's rifle in half then sidekicked the one behind him. Be brought his blade up to deflect a shot fired at close range, igniting one of his kyber crystal wrist blades and stabbing it into his attacker's throat. Shadow whirled and sidestepped away from a short barrage, charging into a spin attack at three more clones, igniting his sword with flames. He tornadoed through them, leaving nothing but ash and smoldering plastoid. Two blips came up close on his motion tracker behind him. Shadow swept his right leg under both troopers, coming up and driving his blade into one of them. The other trooper tackled Shadow, but Shadow got lower, slamming his fist into the trooper's stomach. The clone sprawled and spun on the ground to a roundhouse kick. Shadow deflected it away and grabbed the fist of the next punch. Shadow twisted the arm and gave a good right cross. He turned around and brought the arm over his shoulder, then leaned forward, flipping the clone over him flat into the dirt in front of him. Shadow activated his wristblade and slit his throat before the soldier could react.

"Shadow!" Designer yelled.

Shadow turned to see Designer almost flat on his back, blue rounds coming from everywhere in the dirt fog passing over his head. Shadow jumped right in, concentrating his flames into a strong attack, then released it as he spun. Everything within a five meter radius became smoke.

"Down!" Designer yelled.

Shadow ducked as Designer stood, arms spread straight apart, firing at all directions in rapid fire. Shadow checked his motion tracker to see several surrounding targets dropping almost simultaneously.

"Clear!" Designer announced.

Shadow heard movement to his far right. He drew his sidearms and leveled them at the kicked up dirt, lowering them as soon as he recognized the White armored Atlesian Knights, marching in their rows. The androids moved steadily through the path Shadow and Designer had cleared for them.

"East side is through." Shadow allowed himself a smile. "We have a straight path through."

"As long as we get that air support, this fight will be easy." Designer looked up at the skies.

Shadow ducked after one blue round went past his head. He drew his DC-17M and looked at Designer. Designer gave him the nod, then motioned forward. Together the two opened fire, then continued their charge.

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

"Hard contact!" Jared called out as he landed in a two footed kick at a clone. Jared had just jumped from a high elevated dropship, focusing his aura to protect him from the fall. It sure didn't protect the clone whose posture was pancaked.

Jared's DC-17M met the face of another trooper, then another. He whirled around and started spraying down a squad. Then GT and TJ landed on his flanks and the three fired back to back, clearing their landing zone.

"Sector secure!" GT announced and motioned the group forward.

Jared fired in single shots, conserving his ammo as they moved through the complex system if huts, killing White Fang and TSA troopers on the way. Jared noticed an Atlesian Paladin come up on his right, tearing huts to pieces and blowing up groups of hostiles. The battle was over for Shash. Jared and the twins were just on the ground to decrease Atlas casualties. Jared took a look up at the sky. It was completely under their control. All enemy aircraft was either downed or nowhere to be seen.

"Larties!" TJ pointed.

Jared turned in the direction TJ signaled and saw LAATs taking activated his channel to Ironwood's ship.

"General, we've got some strays." He said.

"Understood," Ironwood said uneasily. "But those anti air guns are pounding us."

"Copy that." Jared replied. "We'll take care of it."

-Team RWBY Collective POV-

Yang grabbed the Nova Seoul by the back of her shoulders, moving to jam her knee into her spinal cord. Seoul was faster. Always faster. She turned and deflected Yang's knee away, whirling into a punch. Yang knocked the blow away and turned to a kick. Seoul raised her leg to block it, then straightened, launching her foot into Yang's side. Yang stumbled back and fired her Ember Cecilias. Seoul stepped to the right, then to the left, then whacked Yang's weapons up, twirling into a roundhouse kick, slamming Yang away.

Ruby came this time, bringing her Scythe at mid height, launching into a strike. Seoul ran straight at Ruby, dropping to her knees and sliding right under Ruby's attack, colliding with Blake's counter attack, catching her blade in between a clap.

Frustrated, Blake swung her cleaver like sheath, almost slicing Seoul's arms off, had the Nova not leaned back. Seoul dropped to all fours, then swept both her legs under Blake, then under Weiss who had zoomed into to help.

Yang jumped at her, concentrating her energy into her fist. Seoul stood and stared at her for the few milliseconds, then slapped the fist away, following up with jamming her elbow into Yang's face. Yang sprawled over on her back. Luckily, Ruby got to Seoul first.

Ruby twirled and swung her Scythe around like a hurricane. It was amazing that Seoul was dodging her speed and recoil augmented attacks. Ruby swung herself into a side flip and let her Scythe spin freely as she let go. Then Seoul did something unexpected. Out of mid air, spinning at incredible speed, Seoul grabbed it, ceasing the spin and punching Ruby across the face.

Blake leaped into an spin, then bounced off a copy she left for Seoul to strike. She actually caught Seoul off guard this time, knocking Ruby's Crescent Rose out of her hands. Seoul didn't stumble back. She leaned forward into Blake's attack and got a punch right at her gut.

Weiss has thought her strike was going unnoticed until Seoul threw Blake at her.

Yang attacked once more, throwing a right cross, and blocking Seoul's counterpunch. Yang struck in lightning blows. She punched at Seoul's head. The Nova blocked it and grabbed the fist of Yang's next attack. Yang smiled and pulled the trigger. The kinetic dust blew Seoul's hand away, unexpected to her. Ruby came to assist this time, jamming the back end of Crescent Rose into Seoul's side, launching her into Yang, who leaned into a hard right cross. Yang raised her fist to land the final blow, but Seoul's hands shot up, grabbing her by the neck. Ruby swerved to strike but Seoul was already close, grabbing her by the neck as well. Seoul raised them and slammed them to the ground.

Seoul's hands fell to her vibroblades as she came up to block Blake and Weiss. Blades clashed and held. Blake and Weiss looked straight into the emotionless T visor as they leaned into their strikes, forcing Seoul back. Then Seoul stopped skidding. She started leaning and rising, forcing Blake and Weiss down. Then Weiss formed a glyph above her head, shooting an ice projectile from it. Seoul tilted her head right to dodge it, but lowered her strength on Blake's end. Blake took the opportunity and shoved Seoul back. In the midst, Weiss lunged and landed her knee right into Seoul's gut.

Seoul stumbled back and fell. It was the first time they had brought her down during the fight. As Yang came, Seoul got on her hands and launched one foot onto Yang's side, then the other onto Yang's shoulder, locking the grip. Seoul leaned into a roll and launched Yang with her. Then Seoul wiggled herself, launching herself up feet first, knocking the oncoming Blake away. Seoul did the same thing again and got back onto her feet.

Ruby charged into a spin. Seoul jumped right over it, ducking under Ruby's next swing. Seoul leaped back as she anticipated Ruby's flurry of attacks. Ruby swung right-left-right-up-right then spun into twin rotating left overhead strikes, letting go of Crescent Rose to spin past Seoul and skid back to her. Ruby grabbed the Scythe by the butt and spun into a wide swing, causing Seoul to once more retreat.

Ruby's attacks made way for Weiss. Weiss lunged with Myrtenaster skidding to a halt as she went past Seoul, then twirled around into a three spinning strikes, that Seoul deflected, then lunged. Seoul moved to the left the slightest, letting Weiss's attack skid past her armor. Seoul was in the perfect spot to elbow Weiss square in the nose.

Ruby came once more into a spin. This time Seoul charged and leaped into a twirl midair, just glancing above Ruby's blade. Still in the air, she grabbed Ruby by the shoulders and pulled her into a roll with her momentum. The two crashed into the dirt, but Seoul got up first, swinging on one hand and kicking Ruby across the face.

Seoul got up and whirled to face Yang. She stepped forward, and to the side, stepping just a bit away from Yang's punch. Using Yang's momentum, she leaped and vaulted over the blonde's shoulder, coming into a two footed kick at Blake. Blake brought her weapons and blocked, taking the impact and skidding back a meter. Yang turned back to punch, but Seoul was already low, and ready to uppercut Yang right in the jaw. Yang stumbled back, stunned from the attack.

Blake charged, spinning into overhead swings to start, then to mid height attacks. Seoul blocked and deflected each of them with her vibroblades. She leaned forward into an opening and hit an empty copy, taking the real kick to the face. Seoul stumbled back, not ready for Yang's energy and dust augmented punch. A crack was heard as Seoul's heard whirled around, followed by her body that spun into a stumble, then fell to a crouch. The crack wasn't the sound of bones though. Seoul had her back to the now ready group. She stood up calmly now, turning to face them, revealing a large, noticeable crack in the visor of her helmet. Her hands carefully moved up to her helmet, and with a hiss and pop, she lifted it off, revealing her sharpened face. She stared at the group with a calm expression, but with eyes full of fire. Team RWBY got ready for the next attack.

"Okay…" Seoul's voice was as cold as ice. She dropped the helmet carelessly. "I guess I'll just have to take you four seriously now."

-Designer 3rd Person POV-

"There it is!" Designer exclaimed.

Designer whacked a trooper across the face. He had been keeping track of his ammunition this time, throwing his empty DC-15S Carbine at another trooper. The trooper stepped back, a bit phased by the unexpected attack. Designer drew his sidearms holstered to his chest and put three shots through the trooper's torso. He tilted his body to avoid another shot and fired at the shooter, putting a round through his helmet.

Designer whirled to shoot down an oncoming trio, but Shadow zoomed past him, driving his sword into the lead trooper's chest. He ignited the sword and the trooper turned to ash. His comrades leaped back to gain a firing angle, but Shadow lunged his free hand forward. Black fire lanced from his palm, stunning one of the shooters. Shadow whirlwinded into the other one, nearly separating the soldier, then decapitated the next.

Designer shot down a few more clones, then something caught his eye. Designer knew exactly who it was. The red marked ARC trooper shot down two Atlesian soldiers and shouldered into an android. The other nine androids took aim with their rifles, but the ARC had almost unnoticeably dropped a thermal in their ranks. The line blew up. The ARC whirled around, fighting a duo of students. One of them had a sword and the other had a spear-like rifle. The Nova stepped back to avoid the sword and ducked to the right to avoid the kick of the spearman. He whirled around, drawing his vibrosword from his back, clashing with the spearman. The swordsman charged from behind, but the Nova kicked his blade away. He turned his attention back to the spearman and skidded the spear-blade off his forearm, launching his elbow into the student's face. He turned to face the swordsman, blocking and deflecting attacks with ease. The ARC looked like he knew he was winning. Then the swordsman sidestepped and lunged. The Nova stepped into the lunge, deflecting the sword away bringing his blade over to the student's forearm, disconnecting the limb halfway. The student screamed, but the Nova ignored him, grabbing one end of the spear that lunged at him. The Nova eyed the spearman's hand, watching his hand go for the trigger. The barrel attached to the spear point was moved towards the injured swordsman, and a dust bolt went straight through his head. The spearman look in horror as he killed his partner on accident, not even realizing his throat had been slashed.

Designer knew who it was. It was Shash. Shash looked up at Designer, seeing him from a distance. He gave the Tech Officer a mock salute, then turned his attention on two more attacking students.

Shash stepped past his first attacker to the right, avoiding the blade of the trident, giving the student a hard pat on the back before moving to the second attacker. The second attacker had dual short swords, flicking his blades at Shash. Shash easily got under the attack, leaping up and driving his knee up the student's jaw. Still midair, Shash planted his foot on the student's chest and kicked off, back flipping onto his feet. He turned to face the other student who was charging. Shash didn't even move, and Designer realized why. He realized why Shash had given him a pat on the back. He doubted the student knew as well, as he turned into a fireball without even knowing. Shash lunged at the other student, who had just gotten onto their feet. With two slashes, his arms fell off. The student cried in pain, just barely getting one second of agony out until Shash slashed his legs, disconnecting them from the mid thigh and down. Shash then, just walked away from the limbless teenager sprawling on the ground.

"Shash!" Designer heard Shadow yell, just before seeing a flaming blur zoom into Shash.

Shadow and Shash clashed blades, both putting their weight into their attack.

"Fancy seeing you here, Shadow." Shash chuckled and eased off pressure, sliding Shadow's blade away.

Shadow went for a punch, but Shash's elbow came up, deflecting it away.

"What's with the hood though?" Shash asked.

Designer was close, kicked Shash from the side, away from Shadow.

"That's what I asked him." Designer piped in the inappropriately timed conversation.

"Designer!" Shash said in a mockingly delightful tone. "You look like shit."

"Someone needs a shorter leash." Designer taunted.

Shadow swung and Shash ducked, whirling into a roundhouse kick, knocking Shadow away.

"Might as well get me a stroller while you're at it." Shash shot back.

Shash turned and once again clashed with Shadow. Designer aimed his sidearms, searching for a clear shot.

"You're gonna pay for Titus." Shadow growled.

"Holy fuck you can hold a grudge." Shash shook his head.

"You're one to talk Shash." Designer gritted his teeth, unable to find a good time to shoot.

"You're not the one who lost practically all your men."

"They deserved it," Shadow snarled. "Just like you."

Shadow turned into a tornado for three slashes, Shash ducking under the first two and rolling under the last, coming up behind Shadow. He gripped and swung hard, Shadow blocked and lost balance, unprepared for the heavy blow. Shash grabbed him by the armor and pulled him in, slamming his elbow into his forehead. Shadow was stunned. Shash took advantage of the opportunity and locked arms with Shadow, lifting the Marshal Commander over his back and flipping him to the ground.

"Clear shot!" Designer announced in glory.

Shash looked up, his helmet hiding his expression, but it was obvious it was fear. Then, Designer's sidearms clicked empty. Flustered, Designer looked at his ammunition counter. It read empty.

"You're so lame Designer." Shash shook his head.

Shadow's wrist lighted up as a kyber crystal powered blade ignited and went for Shash's chest. Shash caught the arm and punched Shadow in the face. At the same time, Designer reloaded.

"Dodge this!" Designer opened fire.

Shash leaned left, right, ducked, rolled, and somersaulted backwards, avoiding all Designer's shots. A blue bolt came from Shash's sidearm, just skimming past Designer's helmet. Then Designer noticed something about Shadow. A metallic sphere was attached to his chest. In panic, Shadow ripped it off his armor and threw it, somehow at Designer. Designer caught the sphere, looking at Shadow with anger.

"What the hell am I supposed to do with this you idiot?!" Designer yelled and tossed it in Shash's direction. Shadow kicked it accurately to add more force mid throw. Shash leaped back, and fire, light and dirt made a fog wall between Shash and the two SBH.

Shash emerged from the fog in a lunge. Designer sidestepped away from it and fired at Shash's legs. Shash merely dodged left and right, then sliced the barrels of the sidearms clean off. Designer released his grip on the sidearms and booted Shash back. Shash skidded about a foot, then whirled into a strike, then Shadow came, defending Designer from the blow. Designer followed up with a jump kick, knocking Shash back.

"Can't beat us both Shash." Designer stated as he drew his vibrosword.

"I don't need to." Shash chuckled. "I just need to buy a little bit of time."

"For what?" Shadow asked.

"You already know how we got here, don't you?"

"Not relevant." Designer interjected.

"Entirely relevant." Shash laughed. "You don't see the outlines yet?"

Designer looked up, realizing what Shash was implying.

"Designer…" Shadow gasped.

"I know." Designer looked up, paley. "I count five Acclamator Class assault ships along with three Venator Class Star Destroyers."

"You didn't think two Acclamators was are entire invasion force, did you?" Shash sneered.

"We are doomed if those things fully arrive." Shadow stated grimly.

"You're doomed anyway!"

Designer brought his blade in front of Shadow, blocking Shash's attack. The two vibrating blades hummed and clattered and the two put pressure against each other.

"Shadow, go." Designer stated. "Stop the artifact."

"But what about-"

"If you don't stop that portal, everyone on this planet is dead." Designer pointed out. "Stop the portal."

"He's right, Shadow," Shash laughed. "Abandon the fight."

"Don't worry Shadow," Designer promised. "I've got this son of a bitch."

Shadow was out of Designer's visual range, but by the bright silence, he could tell Shadow hesitated before saying, "I'll be back as soon as I can."

Designer gave a quick nod, hearing Shadow sprint for the Command Center. The two fighters shoved, both of them skidding back from the first point.

"Shouldn't have let Shadow leave you." Shash twirled his vibrosword.

"I'm more than capable of handling you Shash." Designer replied.

"Obviously you are mistaken." Shash said as he swung high.

Designer stepped back and to the side to avoid Shash's spin. Shash whirled and blocked Designer's parry and lunge, spinning into a kick. Designer got low, ducking under it, and side kicking Shash away.

"You forget that Mack left me to babysit you and your men, alone." Designer taunted. "You really think he'd assign me to watch you cunts if I couldn't handle it?"

"I think Mack underestimated my team," Shash responded. "And most of all, he underestimated me."

Designer gripped both hands on his vibrosword in a ready stance.

"Let's finish this battle, Commander."

-Tested 3rd Person POV-

Tested jammed the butt of his DP23 up a Faunus's jaw. The White Fang soldier stumbled back, still trying to raise their dust rifle. Tested whirled and jammed his rifle into the clone's chest, stabbing him with the vibro-bayonet. The Faunus arched forward in pain, then jumped away as Tested pulled the trigger. The Faunus's torso almost separated from the blast. Tested turned and crouched under a barrage of dust bolts, shooting down the two last soldiers.

"Seriously?" A familiar voice came somewhere off to his right.

Tested turned to level his rifle, then rolled away from the flare like bolt. The bolt impacted and fried everything where he was just moments ago. Tested recognized the attacker. The signature bowler cap and cane made it obvious who it was.

"You may be in different armor," Torchwick stated. "But I recognize the weapon."

Tested returned fire, charging at the gangster. Roman just fired away every shot that Tested made, his flare like explosive rounds absorbing the eight round spread of the DP23. Then Tested brought his shotgun to his hip, ready to use the bayonet. Roman spun into a backhand swing, following up with a forehand. Tested ducked under the backhand and brought his shotgun up vertically, blocking the forehand. Roman leaned into a punch and spun once more into a backhand. Tested stepped back and lunged with his bayonet. Roman easily batted the bayonet away but didn't expect Tested to follow up by slamming the stock of the weapon into his face. Torchwick reeled over, blindly aiming his cane at the ground in front of Tested and firing. Tested got low and tucked himself in, feeling the heat, debris, and shock wave pass over and through him.

The dirt cleared and Roman came right through, whacking Tested across the face with his cane. Tested sidestepped, avoiding a downwards stroke and sidekicked Roman in the back. Roman almost stumbled, but then threw himself at Tested. He turned into a flurries of fencing like attacks, staying behind his cane. Tested gripped his shotgun by the stock and by the safe part of the barrel, deflecting and batting away at Roman's quick attacks. Then Roman took a wide swing, then stepped back, his cane moving into a backhand, except Roman didn't spin. Then Tested realized the cane's barrel lined up with his shoulder, which lined up with him. Tested focused his shield in front of him, and it shattered right in his face as it appeared to stop Roman's shot. Stunned, Tested wasn't ready for when Roman planted his shoulder against his chest and jammed his cane into Tested's gut, pulling the trigger as he did so. With a heavy, truck ramming feel, Tested was flying back into the dirt, meters away.

Tested's vision was blurred, and he was flat on his back, his instincts forcing him to reach for a weapon. He was still kind of out of it, but he could comprehend Roman's speech.

"Greatest soldiers in the galaxy my ass." Roman chuckled. "Shame to ruin that reputation by being utterly defeated by a lowlife like me."

That statement made Tested angry. As Roman came to kick, Tested brought his shin up, letting the boot impact off his shin plate. It hurt Roman more than it hurt him. Tested rolled over to all fours and raised his arm as Roman came into a downwards swing. The cane landed right on Tested's forearm with extreme pain. The armor had stopped his arm from breaking, but he knew there was a bruise there. Tested slid his arm and grabbed Roman's cane, pulling it closer. As Roman's body followed, Tested speared into his chest. The two dropped within short distance. Tested grabbed his vibroblade and climbed onto Roman. Roman planted his foot on Tested's chest and launched him away. Tested rolled into a crouched stance, preparing for Roman's next attack.

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Shadow knew his way into the base, but it was heavily guarded. Shash had pull the Republic forces close to the entrance and had set a perimeter around it. Luckily, Shadow was stealthy. He moved around, trying to move without drawing attention. The dirt cloud made him less visible, but he knew where the clones were from the blue strobes of light. He only needed to get inside. Shadow flicked his thermal imaging filter on, and the bodies of the TSA troopers were highlighted in red. There were thirty, maybe forty of them on this flank in defensive positions.

Shadow looked up at the appearing Republic invasion force. Colors were starting to bleed through and the outlines were sharp. It was only a matter of time until they came through. Shadow couldn't waste any more time.

Reluctantly, Shadow primed his last three thermal grenades and tossed them at the entrance. The clones on his thermal imaging filter sprawled, dived, evaded and took cover. There was a sudden heat bloom that covered at least half of them. That was Shadow's chance. He sprinted through the smoke, all the way to the entrance, not bothering to shoot. As long as he got there without being spotted. Shadow body checked into the weakened door, knocking it down. He turned back to see if any of the clones had seen him. All he saw was clones checking their dead comrades or trying to move. Shadow had hit them good.

Shadow checked his Deece. It was out of ammunition. He attached the weapon to his back and drew his sidearms. He made his way down the corridors. It was empty. Too empty. Then Shadow felt a shot ping off his hood. He pressed himself against the wall and checked his motion tracker. Five hostile contacts. Shadow came out in a crouch, taking aim and firing at one of them. Shadow realized they were Airborne. Shadow shot one of them in the chest and another in the gut. Shadow rolled to avoid the shots of the other three, firing away to suppress them. Waiting for them to all take cover, Shadow charged, getting close enough to kick away the rifle of the closest one. Shadow put three rounds into the next Airborne trooper's chest and shot the last in the head. He whirled around to face the closest one and stepped back to avoid a right cross. Shadow brought his forearm up to block the backhand and jammed his other sidearm up the trooper's jaw, firing until he dropped. Shadow checked his motion tracker. He had more hostiles coming. He would have to fight his way to the end.

-Team RWBY Collective POV-

Weiss stumbled back when Seoul body checked her square in the chest. She wheeled over on her heel and struck high, following up with a low swing. Seoul tilted her head to avoid the attack, then sidestepped.

Seoul turned to counter Yang, ducking under her punch and shoving her into Weiss.

Seoul's blades met Blake's. The two clashed several times, Seoul flicking her blades at Blake's torso. Blake crossed her blades and concentrated her aura and energy into a swing. A discharge of her energy glanced right past Seoul's shoulder, but Seoul didn't stop charging. If Blake's attack hadn't thrown her a bit off balance, she would've took Blake's arm right off. Blake reeled back to recover from a gash to her shoulder.

Weiss came to strike, using her glyphs to quicken her speed. Seoul managed to turn around just in time to deflect her blade away. Weiss twirled again into a lunge. Seoul caught Myrtenaster by the blade. Weiss, surprised by the attack, didn't expect the boot right to her gut.

Ruby launched herself at Seoul. Seoul wielded Myrtenaster like a club, holding it by the blade. Ruby charged. Then Seoul took one step back, then forward, stepping right on her blade and forcing it to the dirt. Ruby reeled over when Seoul clubbed her across the cheek.

"Ruby!" Seoul heard Yang yell.

Seoul dropped Myrtenaster and ducked under Yang's dropkick. She turned and deflected two spinning punches then shoved Yang. Yang stumbled back and aimed her Ember Cecilias behind her, firing to add more momentum to her punch. Seoul brought her hands up and blocked it, taking the impact and skidding back a foot. Seoul batted Yang's next punch away as the barrel of her Cecilia came close to her face. Seoul blocked the next high punch, then deflected the next low punch. Yang spun into a roundhouse kick, then switched to the other direction mid attack. Seoul blocked and leaned in, jamming her elbow into Yang's pelvis. Had Weiss not struck Seoul across her back at the same moment, Seoul would've shattered Yang's femur.

She raised Yang's leg and shoved her back off balance. Weiss had her glyphs ready and was about to strike at Seoul from all angles, but Seoul drew her sidearm, and Weiss wasn't fast enough. A burning and bruising feeling filled her left shoulder towards her pectorals. She lost feeling in her left arm and collapsed to her knees in the burning pain.

Blake sliced Seoul's sidearm in half as soon as the barrel lined up with her face. Seoul quickly dropped the sidearm and sidestepped away from Blake's downward swing, punching Blake in the wounded arm. Blake cringed at the sharp pain and spun into three swings to force Seoul away. Seoul found an opening and went for a calf kick, knocking Blake off balance. She spun into a hook kick, hitting Blake just below her neck. Blake stumbled back, then face planted when Seoul performed an ax kick, straight down on the back of her head. Blake rolled away to avoid a stomp and somersaulted back onto her feet, her first left strike being deflected away by a crescent kick. As she brought her right blade up, Seoul grabbed her right arm by the wrist and pulled her close. Blake brought her knee up with the movement, but Seoul sidestepped, straightening and putting Blake into an arm lock. Blake let out a cry of pain as Seoul applied pressure.

Yang was ready to support. She came behind Seoul, wrapping her arms around the Nova's waist, lifting her up and leaning back. Seoul anticipated the body slam and placed her arms above her head to soften the impact. Keeping the momentum of the fall, she rolled backwards onto her feet. Yang charged into heavy blows. Seoul blocked each one, taking the heavy impact combined with Yang's Ember Cecilias. Yang grabbed Seoul by the shoulders and forced her down, bringing her knee up to Seoul's face. Seoul's hands were already crossed to block the knee. Seoul came up and slapped Yang's hands off her shoulders, grabbing Yang by the shoulders and throwing her forehead into Yang's.

Yang's vision went blurry, and she couldn't tell whether Seoul had spun into a roundhouse or a jump kick. All she knew is that she was flying back into the dirt. Yang got onto one knee when Seoul got her right arm wrapped around Yang's neck. Yang reached back to resist but Seoul elbowed her in the back, right near the liver. Yang arched back, stunned, leaving Seoul enough time to secure the rear naked choke. The more Yang struggled, the tighter the grip became. The world started to fade away as Yang began slamming her fists into Seoul's arm, firing her Ember Cecilias as she did so.

Ruby slammed the blade of Crescent Rose into the ground, using it to anchor a two footed kick into Seoul's back. Not out of pain, but out of annoyance did Seoul release Yang, hearing the blonde choke and gasp for air. Seoul's reluctance allowed Ruby to land a crushing blow to Seoul's ribs. Ruby didn't hear a crash, but from the expression and grunt of pain Seoul made, Ruby could tell she hit her hard. Ruby spun around into a another flurry of spin attacks. Seoul kept stepping back, keeping her eye on Ruby's legs. Ruby zoomed into a high to low strike and twirled her Scythe to a sweep. This time Seoul stepped forward, jumping over the next attack and punching Ruby right in the face. Ruby stumbled back until Seoul grabbed hold of her. Seoul took time into her next strike, and Ruby found out why a moment later. Seoul locked her arms around Ruby's right shoulder and put her entire body weight into her knee, landing the blow right above Ruby's left side. The crack of bones was heard, not before the unbearable pain that caused Ruby to scream. Ruby collapsed to her side, cringing and starting to tear up and cry from the agony.

"First time you broke a bone, kid?" Seoul taunted. "There's more where that came from."

And injured and unarmed Weiss tried to tackle Seoul, but her attempt seemed like it was no more than a hug. Seoul looked down at her in disappointment. She grabbed Weiss by the neck and picked her up, throwing the Schnee away. Seoul turned to face a now readied Blake.

"Ruby!" The voice came from Seoul's right. She took a quick glance to see Yang with Ruby in her arms. The red-hooded teen was legitimately crying, clutching the right side of her chest with tears streaming down her face.

"Your team mates are so fragile, Blake." Seoul smiled.

Blake's face turned to a snarl right before she charged to engage Seoul once again.

-Tested 3rd Person POV-

"You're weak!" Roman gave Tested a hard whack to the side.

Tested reeled over. Even with the armor, Roman could've cracked ribs. Tested slashed with his vibroblade to force Roman back, but the gangster spun and whacked him across the face. Tested felt his helmet fly off from the blow.

"Good soldier, sure I'll accept that," Roman shrugged and spoke aggressively. "But what good is a good soldier if they don't have power here?"

Tested charged, only to miss and feel three pings on his back. An arm grabbed him by the shoulder and a knee connected with his gut. Then his torso burned and stung like fire, or so it felt like. Tested felt rapid fire hits from Roman's cane. The gangster didn't stop, moving at unbelievable speed that in their universe would be considered supernatural. The last blow was a jab, followed by an explosive projectile impact from the cane. Tested was sent back into the dirt.

"Look at you!" Roman laughed. "And look who you're getting beat by!"

Tested was angry with Roman's statements, but his torso was on fire. It felt like someone had stuffed him in a trash compactor.

_Get up you piece of shit!_ Tested told himself.

Tested, allowing himself grunts of pain, anything to get himself up. Roman came for one whack and Tested ducked, then blocked the next low swing. Roman spun again into a swing and Tested deflected his cane down. Roman still pulled the trigger and heat splashed everywhere on the ground. Tested resisted as much as he could, using his shield to take in most of the impact, but the sudden washover of heat made his face feel like it was going to melt. The impact still knocked him off balance. Still determined, he leaned forward, regaining his balance and launched himself into the dirt cloud and smoke in front of him. He caught sight of Roman's cane, falling to the ground with the barrel facing down. As it hit the dirt, Tested realized what it was for. The cane fired on impact, using the recoil and discharge to launch itself at Tested's jaw. Tested stumbled back, turning to face Roman, only having enough time to see him grab the cane out if mid air and connect a fist with Tested's cheek.

_Focus! _The drill sergeant within Tested's head barked. _Anticipate!_

Tested held his arm out, feeling the next punch fall right into his palm. He turned back to see a surprised Roman. Tested pulled Roman in and slashed, just leaving a cut in his coat as the gangster leaped away. Torchwick inspected his coat where Tested had cut it.

"This was my favorite jacket!" Roman looked at Tested with eyes of fury.

Tested roared at Roman, out of pain from his recent wounds and out of courage and savagery. Roman charged, spinning left, then right, then left again. Each blow was heavily met by Tested's forearms or wrists. Roman doubled his right swing, swinging low, rotating his wrist, then doubling back for a high swing. Tested took the low swing to the thigh, then leaned back to avoid the high swing. Tested crouched down to avoid a spin attack and launched his shoulder into Roman's chest. Roman skidded back and lunged forward immediately after. Roman did something different with his cane now. As he made his heavy blows, his cane discharged the same flare like explosions on impact. Tested skidded back from the first attempt to block. He nearly broke his arm in the second attempt. There was no third attempt. He felt the explosion on his shoulder, then his lower gut, then his upper torso, thigh, arm, knee, then torso again and again. Finally, Tested felt the explosion on his face, flying through the air for moments and landing flat on his back.

Tested tried to get up, but his body was in so much pain. He even felt dizzy, and was zoning out of the real world. He shook his head and tried to get up again. He looked down to see the scorched, dented, and chipped SBH armor than wasn't really black anymore. Then Tested saw Roman, waltzing over to him, fiddling with his cane.

_Get up!_ The voice ordered again, but he couldn't obey.

"You fight harder than most, I'll give you that." Roman nodded.

_No._

"Don't worry," Roman chuckled. "You guys are all clones anyway. It's not like nobody is going to miss you."

_It's over_.

"I hope you enjoyed your experience on Remnant while it lasted."

_I have failed._

"But it's over now," Roman placed the barrel of his cane in front of Tested's face. "Here's your ticket out."

_No! _The voice yelled. _You're not done yet!_

Tested grabbed the barrel of the cane and focused, feeling a shield forming around the opening. Roman pulled the trigger, but the shield didn't collapse this time. This time, the force of the shot went back up the cane, blowing it apart. Roman yelled in confusion or pain as his weapon blew up in his hands. Roman reeled over, feeling his palm.

Tested struggled, putting every last ounce of energy he had left into getting up.

_Get up!_ The Drill Sergeant was even louder this time. Tested even started repeating the statements.

_You think you've got what it takes to be a soldier!_

Tested threw himself forward, tackling a confused Roman. Tested didn't even realize he screamed the entire time he did this. He slammed Roman into the ground and brought his fist up, hitting him square in the nose, again, and again, and again. Tested couldn't hear anything, feel anything. He didn't hear the loud and long screaming he was doing, nor did he feel the pain from his wounds, or the bruises on his knuckles forming and even splitting. He didn't care Roman's face grew bloodier by each punch.

It was only till something hit him in the forehead, hard. Tested's vision went blurry, slowly fading, but he saw a White Fang Faunus soldiers standing over him, aiming his dust rifle, until a blue bolt tore through his chest.

"Tested!" A familiar friendly voice called, getting closer.

"Tested! I got you!" We're the last words he heard before everything went black.

-Designer 3rd Person POV-

Designer leaned into a hard swing. When Shash avoided it, he transferred his weight onto his other leg, whirling into a kick. He caught Shash in the side. Shash didn't falter. Keeping the momentum of Designer's attack, he spun into a roundhouse kick, hitting Designer in the back of his knee. Designer collapsed into a crouch and threw a low swing. Shash brought his vibrosword low and blocked it, placing his boot against Designer's shoulder and booting him down.

Designer sprawled on the ground and almost didn't roll away from Shash's stab at dirt. Designer rolled into a crouch and whacked Shash's sword away, causing him to lose balance. Designer, balancing on one arm, threw his legs up into a kick, getting the Nova in the back of the head. Shash was sent into the dirt, then rolled to his feet. Designer sprinted up towards him and kicked the open of his thigh. He vaulted over Shash's shoulder and wrapped his arm around his neck. Shash didn't let him secure the hold, getting his arm in between Designer's and his neck. Shash's hand went behind Designer's head, and Designer was rolling off of him, flat onto his back.

Designer deflected the punch that came straight for his face into the dirt next to his head and brought his legs up, placing his knees around Shash's head. Designer pulled, flipping Shash over him.

Shash rolled right into the perfect spot to grab his Vibrosword. Designer leaned back to avoid the first slash, drawing his twin vibroblades and blocking the second. Shash flicked his sword down, and Designer stepped back to protect his leg. Shash sprinted and jumped into a spinning double kick. Designer narrowly dodged it.

"No one liners now, Dessie?" Shash taunted.

"I thought it'd be stupid to waste them on a fucker like you." Designer shot back.

"Gonna wait for some new gadget that'll save you?"

"You know what, screw it," Designer snarled as he lunged as Shash. Shash deflected it away and spun into a counter. Designer spun as well, coming to block. The two clashed. "Your full nickname, Shashank. We should call you _Shits-hank_ instead, because you and your men are shit."

"Whatever you say Desi-cunt." Shash forced Designer back.

"Desi-cunt?" Designer chuckled as he parried and deflected a flurry of attacks. "Is that the best you can come up with?"

"Laugh all you want." Shash sidestepped away from Designer's slash and kick.

Designer put just a bit too much force into a slash and Shash got on the open end, slapping one of Designer's vibroblades out if his hands. Shash leaned in and sidekicked him away. In the midst, Designer didn't manage to hold onto his other blade, stumbling away unarmed. Designer just barely dodged a quick slash, feeling a thin sting from his chest as Shash's blade just grazed him. Designer ducked under the next spin and caught the blade arm of the third. He brought his knee up into Shash's gut but Shash raised his shin, blocking the attack. Shash leaned back the slight and extended the same leg into a sidekick.

Designer stumbled back and fell onto his side. Designer rolled backwards to avoid the downward slash. As he landed, he felt the back of his heel touch something. Designer reached back behind him and felt the hilt if his vibrosword. He gripped it fast, then launched himself into a roll under Shash's next attack. Designer spun and the two came back to blows.

"Back to stage one I see." Shash noted.

"That's a matter of perspective." Designer said back as he sidestepped.

The two came forward into one clash.

"You're done, Designer." Shash stated.

"Not while this heart still pumps." Designer shot back, and shoved Shash away.

Shash twirled his sword and beckoned Designer forward with a taunt. Designer readjusted his grip. At this point, Designer wasn't really sure he could beat Shash. But he had to try.

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

_Three. Two. One._

BOOM!

Shadow's breaching charge blew the door to the artifact room right open. He didn't reluctantly charge, knowing that there were at least ten hostile contacts in the room. He had done the right thing, seeing blue bolts flying through the opening like there was no tomorrow. Shadow knew the clones were aiming for the center mass. Waist level at the lowest. Still with his thermal imaging scope on his HUD, he got low, aiming through the smoke of the breaching charge, at the red highlighted targets. His sidearm leveled with the red form, and he pulled the trigger. The red figure reeled over and fell flat. Shadow did the same thing to two more clones. The shots stopped coming as the clones took cover. Good thing, except for the fact he was out of ammo. He drew his Dark Sword and dived through the entrance, slashing at the two clones on either side of the entrance. Another clone popped out of cover to fire, but Shadow got there first, thrusting his sword down the trooper's chest. Shadow whirled to face the remaining four. Two of them were technicians and the other two were Airborne.

The airborne troopers rushed him, firing away. The cavern was wide, too easy for a firefight. Shadow dived behind the nearest piece of cover that was the artifact and its podium. Shots started slamming the podium, and Shadow felt the rounds tearing through. Then he concentrated his fire. He concentrated his semblance, feeling two fiery DC-17Ms form in his hands. Then he rolled out of cover, spraying at the two attackers. The airborne troopers were pelted by the flaming rounds, knocked down almost instantly. Shadow shot the technician that tried to pick up a weapon, and then eyed the last one.

"Turn it off." Shadow ordered.

The technician held his hands up in surrender, not moving. Shadow drew his Dark Sword.

"I said turn it off."

"Okay, okay." The technician waved him off.

The technician moved slowly to the artifact, Shadow watching his every move. Then he surged forward, slamming the artifact from the top like a button. The artifact pulsed once, then remained glowing.

"What did you do?!" Shadow exclaimed.

"It can't be stopped now." The technician replied sternly. "Kill me anyway. You won't live to survive the planetary bombardment."

Out of anger, Shadow lunged forward, grabbing the technician by the neck, igniting his hand in flames. The technician started screaming as Shadow fried his throat until his head separated from his body. Flames started pouring out of his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, and his head turned to ash as it hit the ground, his body falling right after.

Shadow whirled and looked at the artifact. He could see within the red, white, black and yellow crystal, the Republic invasion force coming through. They would bomb this entire island, after destroying Ironwood's fleet in mere seconds. Jared, GT, TJ, Tested, Ruby, Weiss, Yang and Blake wouldn't even survive to watch the fleet destroy their home. Shadow had no way to stop it. Or did he?

Shadow stared at the artifact. There was a way to stop it. Destroy it. But that would ruin Tested's ride home. He didn't have a choice. He concentrated his flames and energy into his Dark Sword, then stepped back.

_Sorry Tested._

As soon as Shadow struck, a white light filled the room, and the crystal cracked, gleaming brighter than anything Shadow had seen before. Through the gleaming, he saw the Republic fleet through the crystal slowly disappearing, as if they were never there. The crystal shrunk, then shattered.

-Blake and Yang Collective POV-

"When are you two going to learn?!" Seoul taunted.

Blake slashed and slashed away in lightning attacks. Seoul stepped back away from every single one. Blake stepped back and left a copy of herself. Seoul took the bait, or so Blake thought. As Seoul's blade passed through the copy, Seoul was spinning into a kick. Blake stumbled back from the blow, almost not ready for Seoul's fast and spread out slashes. She blocked an overheard, deflected two side slashes abs sidestepped away from two attempted stab. Seoul back flipped over Blake as she lunged. Blake felt two stings on her shoulders as she passed through, whirling to counterattack. Seoul ducked and sidekicked Blake away. Blake left a copy behind and leaped back, several meters from where she was a moment ago. Blake realized why her shoulders stung. It was two, thin gashes Seoul had slashed her with.

Blake looked up to see Seoul charging. She ran into a flip, right over the Nova, landing behind her. Seoul whirled around into a slash that nearly cut Blake's ear off. Seoul turned into stabbing attacks, stabbing high and low interchangeably Blake was having trouble deflecting, stepping back every blow, searching for an opening. Blake stepped forward at the last time and front kicked Seoul in the gut. The Nova took the blow as if she didn't feel it, shoving Blake away and turning back into stabbing motions. Seoul got faster and faster. Blake couldn't keep up. Then, a sharp pain filled the right side of her abdomen. She felt Seoul's blade press into her gut, the other one going into her left forearm, forcing her to drop the cleaver-like sheath. An elbow came up and slammed Blake at the side of the neck. Blake dropped to her knees, incapable of doing anything.

"I thought a bitch like you could handle all these pricks." Seoul taunted.

In desperation, she flicked Gambol Shroud into its pistol mode and did her best to level the weapon. Seoul easily batted the barrel away, then spent an extra second forming her fist, giving Blake a hard punch across her face. Blake felt the full force of the punch, along with her aura being completely deleted and shattered. Blake sprawled on the ground, groaning from the pain. She knew there was a bruise on her cheek by now.

Yang had made sure Ruby was alright before leaping, flipping midair into an axe kick. Seoul wasn't caught by surprise at all. She merely sidestepped, and Yang's heel met the dirt. Yang leaped away to avoid Seoul's counter slash, then leaped forward into a flurry of punches. Seoul deflected Yang's right cross, blocked an uppercut, blocked two more punches, ducked under a kick, blocked a backhand, and sidekicked Yang away. Seoul charged at Yang, a little bit too confident, not ready for Yang's shot at the ground in front of her. Yang charged through the dirt, catching Seoul off guard with an uppercut. Yang spun and punched Seoul right in the lower chest while she was still in mid air.

Seoul skidded back, then fell to a knee. Yang jumped up and twirled, positioning herself into a ground slam. Seoul was still for a moment, then moved out of the way by just a centimeter. Dirt and fire from Yang's semblance filled her vision. She didn't see Seoul bring her knees up and plant her two boots in Yang's face. Yang reeled over into a crouch. Then Seoul leaped at her just as she was standing up, landing her thighs on Yang's shoulders and tightening the grip. Yang, only having the visibility of Seoul's crotch plate, only felt herself flipping as Seoul leaned back.

Yang landed flat on her back, almost not ready for Seoul's stab. Yang rolled over and fired a round from her Ember Cecilias, knocking the blades out of Seoul's hands. Seoul charged, only reeling to the right when one of Yang's rounds tagged her on the chest, scraping and denting her chestplate. She ducked under the next one, and put her power to her legs, coming up with a hard punch to Yang's gut. Yang grunted and cringed at the pain. Seoul grabbed the blonde by the hair and pulled her in closer, repeating the punch again and again. Seoul finally brought Yang's head down and launched her knee into it. Yang stumbled back, not even being able to fall, as Seoul grabbed her by the neck, lifting her up with one arm as she choked her. Then a shot ricocheted off Seoul's shoulder, the shot tearing the piece of armor off. The Nova dropped Yang.

Blake was on her side, clutching her wound and aiming Gambol Shroud. She had just shot Seoul in the shoulder. She readjusted her aim and shot Seoul on the right side of her chest. Seoul turned and let the shot deflect off.

"Yang! Now!" Blake yelled.

Yang came up in a twin forward punch, putting all the energy she had absorbed into it, combined with her Ember Cecilias. The force knocked Seoul back ten meters away. The Nova slammed back into a fuel tank, looking up in fury. She dropped down and picked up a sidearm, shooting Yang just below her right kneecap. Yang grunted in pain from the shot and dropped to a knee.

"Hey Seoul!" Blake yelled.

Blake aimed for Seoul's head as she called the Nova out, firing before she leveled her sidearm. Seoul ducked, the shot going over her head. She returned a shot, the blue bolt shaving Blake's neck. The heat made her cringe and she clasped it. Blake looked over at Seoul. The Nova was smiling, but something was wrong. Something was wrong with the fact that she ducked. It was the fuel tank behind her.

"You missed bitch." Were Seoul's last words before the tank blew, engulfing the area surrounding it in flames. There was a barely audible scream from a woman as the explosion happened, but it was too short and far away for Blake to confirm it. Yang was thrown back from the impact and Blake hugged the dirt, feeling the shock wave pass over her.

After a few seconds, Blake looked up. Everything within the radius of the fuel tank was gone, and Seoul was nowhere to be seen. Not even a scrap of armor was noticeable.

"Call that a miss?" Blake allowed herself a mutter.

"Somebody call the fire department," Yang overheard Blake, coughing up blood, but still going with the joke. "Because someone just got burned!"

"More like roasted, Yang." Blake rolled over and applied pressure to her wound, grimacing from the pain.

Yang tried her best to laugh, limping and landing next to Blake, crouched next to her partner.

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

Jared had climbed onto the last AT-TE, springing towards the gunner. The gunner didn't even know why a blade came out of his chest, or who had killed him. He looked towards the front, seeing GT, TJ and Tested taking cover from the main forward ball turrets. Jared drew both Katanas and sprinted towards the front, jumping down, into a spin, slicing the barrels of the ball turrets off.

"TJ!" Jared called out.

TJ started sprinting towards the walker, GT and Tested covering him from surrounding clones. He drew his sword, glistening, then pulsing with energy. Jared drew his DC-17M and started spraying up at the glass shattering it, exposing the canopy for the cockpit, just in time for TJ. TJ jumped up high, spinning into a jab at the cockpit. The canopy burst away in an explosion and discharge of TJ's semblance. Jared leaped away as what remained of the walker crashed down, offline.

GT and Tested made their way over to Jared and TJ, taking defensive positions on the downed walker, firing at retreating TSA troopers.

"They're falling back to their Command Center!" Tested stated. "Last place they can hold a stand."

"That means we thinned them out with the surrounding push into their base." TJ noted.

"Concentrating fields of fire around the CC," GT clicked his teeth. "With the numbers they still have, they can still put a dent in us."

"Or they'll be bunched up, all in one place," Jared pointed out. "Easier for us to strike."

"Glad the skies are ours." Tested sighed in relief. "Would be shit for us if they still had the Acclamators."

"You're welcome." GT nudged him.

"We've gotta regroup with the others." Jared stated. "Tested, where are they?"

"Shadow sent team RWBY to take out the AA guns near the south side," Tested explained. "Shadow, Designer and I were supposed to get to the CC and stop Shash. I stayed behind to cover them."

"And had a fight with Torchwick." TJ added.

"We can circle around and meet up with the girls first," Jared ordered. "Shadow and Designer can wait for us."

"It'd be closer to meet up with Shadow first." TJ interjected.

"Shadow and Dessie can handle anything, or at least hold off until we get there," Jared assured. "Team RWBY is who I'm concerned about."

"More likely your girlfriend." GT snickered as he switched his Deece into sniper mode, firing away.

Jared stopped firing to look towards him. He had a disappointed and embarrassed expression on his face, but it didn't matter with his helmet hiding it.

"Hey, shut up you." Jared shot back.

"It's true." GT shrugged.

"There's a time and a place gentlemen." TJ stopped them.

"Is this how you guys normally go through combat?" Tested asked as he took cover from a few rounds, then started blasting away with his DP23. "Small talk? Inappropriate conversations?"

"When the matter suits it?" Jared chuckled. "What do you and your squadmates do?"

"You know," Tested replied. "The usual. Like- GRENADE!"

Jared turned and saw the thermal grenade, diving away as soon as his brain processed it. He rolled back onto his feet, peering through the smoke, seeing a group of charging clones. Jared shot two of them before they got within close range, then slammed the butt of his rifle into the next trooper's faceplate. The trooper's companion came behind him, firing his DC-15S at hip level. Jared sidestepped from two shots and jammed his boot into the trooper's gut as soon as he got in range. Then the other trooper recovered, and Jared plowed right under him, flipping the soldier over his back, and shooting his companion behind him. He didn't bother to shoot the stunned clone, as Tested had already put an eight round spray of blue bolts into his helmet.

GT and TJ lunged past Jared, shouldering into the blindly charging TSA clones. Knocking them over and shooting them as they sprawled. Jared and Tested followed up with cover fire, shooting down the next wave of clones, until no more came.

"You and your squadmates have boring conversations." Jared remarked.

"Well," Tested shrugged. "We're bred to fight, not to be socialists."

"Now's a good time to be a fighter anyway." GT gave Tested a firm nod.

"Path ahead is clear." TJ pointed.

"Alright," Jared motioned. "Let's move!"

-Designer 3rd Person POV-

_Crack!_

Designer reeled over from a near knockout punch. His heads up display flared and flashed in his face, along with his helmet interior sparking for a few moments. He was quick to shut his eyes, but the heat from the sparks felt like the tiniest bullets penetrating his flesh. Designer whirled into a counter slash, keeping Shash away while he recovered. Designer's helmet interior calmed and his HUD went offline. There was a crack in the visor and a dent in the cheek area. Shash had probably hit a power fuse. Still, Designer refused to remove the protective helmet, regardless of the fact he looked through a cracked visor.

"You aren't looking too good there Designer." Shash sneered.

"Shut up and fight." Designer growled and swung.

"As you wish." Shash said as he stepped away from the attack.

Designer stepped in, flicking his sword at Shash's torso. Shash parried and lunged, Designer knocking the blade away. Designer spun the other way into a elbow. Shash caught Designer's elbow and brought his sword up and down to disconnect the Tech Officer's arm. Designer dropped to a crouch and stepped away. He came up, getting his forearm under Shash's neck, pushing him back. Shash stumbled back a few steps and brought his free arm high, then jammed his fist into the area where Designer's neck connected to his torso. Designer stepped back, stunned from the attack, almost not ready for a whirlwind smash, stumbling back from the blow. Designer stopped himself with his heels and charged into a high swing. Shash ducked right under it as he spun, and Designer felt the flat of the Nova ARC's blade make contact with his heel, tripping him.

Shash came up and spun into a finishing blow, but Designer blocked it, placing his free hand on the flat of his vibrosword, taking in the impact. Designer brought his leg up and kicked Shash off of him. Designer rolled to his feet at whirled to face Shash. The two circled each other, blades in ready positions, ready to strike.

"You're bleeding now." Shash continued his taunts.

Designer looked down at his chestplate, feeling a gash he had not noticed before. His hand felt the wet, sickly, warm blood starting to ooze out.

"Still so sure of winning?" Shash twirled his sword around, a humming whirr audible as it vibrated with the air.

"I don't have to win." Designer replied, grinning under his helmet. "I just have to stall for Shadow."

Shash seemed to jolt into reality, realizing what Shadow had gone to do.

"What, forgot your best man?" Designer joked.

A bright light flashed from the Command Center. It wasn't an explosion, but more of an energy wave, shining only in four noticeable colours; Red, white, black, and yellow. The light pulsed hard, so much that Designer actually had to squint, despite his polarizing visor. Then it faded, back to normal. Designer took a look up at the sky. The outlined Republic fleet started to fade, as if it were being erased from existence, like it was never there.

"And there he goes." Designer chuckled.

Designer turned to a furious Shash, staring up at the sky in disbelief. His head slowly leveled with Designer's in a slow menace.

"He wasn't supposed to be able to do that." Shash shouted in a mutter.

"So you see Shash," Designer taunted. "You lose either way."

Shash looked at Designer for a few moments, then seemed to grip his vibrosword a lot tighter than usual.

"Sure, I lose," Shash growled. "But, if I'm going down, I'm taking as many as I can with me. STARTING WITH YOU!"

Shash surged forward at Designer. Designer got ready, prepared to stop the stampede like charge. Shash threw the first swing that Designer blocked. He whirled and swung again. Designer barely deflected it away. Just in half that time, Shash was already in a low swing, giving Designer a slash at his thigh. Designer didn't have enough time to avoid the elbow to his gut. Designer sidestepped away from the lunge and struck forehand and backhand. Shash merely stepped back and came forward, punching Designer across the face. Designer whirled again into a slash, but was stopped by a sidekick to the gut. Still in mid stumble, Shash kept turning into his kick, bringing his other leg up to follow up, whacking Designer across the face.

Designer spun and fell to a crouch. He anticipated a downwards slash to his rear and he brought his sword up, skidding Shash's blade away. Shash's spun fast, slashing Designer across the back. Designer arched back in pain, but his instincts forced him into a roll forward. He turned around as soon as he got to his feet, Shash punched him in the gut. Designer reeled over and twirled into a counter swing. Shash caught the bladed arm and ran his blade across Designer's forearm. Designer cringed at the pain and threw a punch with his free hand. Shash ducked and got low, jamming the butt of his sword into Designer's rib cage. Designer felt a rib crack in the impact. Shash whirled around and slashed Designer on his right hip, then sidekicked his right side. Designer felt another rib crack with the blow and barely kept himself on his feet.

Designer regained his footing, biting down on his teeth from the pain of broken ribs. He blocked Shash's next high swing, then countered a low swing with a lunge. Shash smashed the blade away and slashed Designer across the shoulder. Designer kept his feet planted and brought his sword high into a downwards stroke. Shash caught the bladed arm, leaving Designer wide open.

Designer felt the squelching, burning, and puke like feel of the stab, feeling Shash's vibrosword drive into his gut. Shash's visor met Designer's, and the two stared each other right in the eyes. Shash twisted the blade and dug in deeper. Designer coughed as if it were a sneeze, and saw blood come from his mouth and stain the interior of his helmet. Then Shash pulled his blade out, slashing Designer across both kneecaps. Designer dropped to his knees, feeling the weakness of blood loss and the agony of his wounds.

"I want you to die, knowing that you die a traitor, Designer," Shash sneered as he walked around behind the bleeding Tech officer. "Not a protector, not a saviour, not a soldier," Shash wrapped his free arm around Designer's neck and lifted him up, just barely into a stance. Designer struggled against the grip in pain, grunting and screaming from the unwanted movements. "A traitor. You, Designer, die a traitor to the Republic, and there is only one place traitors belong. But don't be afraid, tech officer. Death comes for us all."

Designer gasped and arched back, allowing himself grunts of pain as the vibrosword came from his back, through his chest. It was high and centralized around his heart. It was a killing blow. Designer's mouth started pouring blood, starting to fill his helmet. He looked down, seeing the blade protruding from the left side of his chest. He looked up, the world fading before him.

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Shadow stumbled out of the main Command Center building, still a bit dazed from the blinding light of the artifact. It was like it did not want to be destroyed, but allowed itself to. It was like Shadow had spread it apart. The way it reacted. As soon as Shadow had struck it, it was like he was striking a being. There was no time to ponder this right now. He was surrounded by clones with their backs to him, putting up a last Stand against Atlesian forces. At a range, the TSA could put up a hell of a fight. If it got to close quarters, the students could turn the tide of the battle.

Shadow drew his Dark Sword, knowing he had no ammunition left for his firearms. Concentrating his fire into it, he spun into a slash. A wave of fire was launched, hitting an unsuspecting squad of clones. Shadow was already sprinting at the next group, hoping to get to then before they could level their rifles. He got there just in time, skidding under a short barrage and batting the rifle out of the next trooper's hands. He whirled around and kicked another, stabbing the first trooper in the process. The rest of the group started to back away, but Shadow didn't let them get within firing range, slashing and hacking at them as if they were defenseless.

As he cleared the section, more clones started rallying to his side to close up the breach in their defense, but that's when the Paladins charged. The large, Atlesian mechs slammed away rows and rows of TSA troopers, then started firing with their dust cannons, breaking up enemy fortifications. Then the androids and soldiers followed behind them, led by the students.

It was close quarters now. It wasn't gun vs gun now. It was melee. Atlesian soldiers attached their rifles to their backs and drew their collapsible swords, the clones using their rifles and blasters to block or deflect attacks.

Shadow spun and slashed a clone across the chest. His partner came by him, swinging his rifle at Shadow. Shadow sidestepped from the attack and kicked the trooper in the back. Two more clones came behind him. Shadow grabbed the barrel of the closest one's rifle as he swung and slashed at the other. The other clone brought his carbine up to deflect the attack but Shadow separated the weapon and kicked him in the gut. Shadow pulled the barrel of the rifle he was holding, bringing the trooper closer and stabbing him in the chest. He turned to see the downed trooper taking aim with his rifle. Shadow grabbed the barrel and ignited his hand in black flames, melting the barrel opening shut. The weapon backfired and blew up in the soldier's face. Another clone grabbed Shadow from behind, wrapping his arm under Shadow's neck. Shadow activated his wrist blade and jammed it into the trooper's forearm. The clone released in pain, and Shadow finished him with a slash across the chest.

In the chaos, Shadow saw Designer, fighting off Shash. Designer parried blows, but Shash was coming at him hard. Shadow charged through the combat, knocking over clones on the way. He was almost there.

_Wham!_

As clone shouldered himself into Shadow's side, stalling him from reaching his comrade. Shadow kicked the barrel of the rifle up as it leveled with him. Shadow whirled and drove his Dark Sword into the clone trooper's side, igniting it with flames and burning the body in two.

Then Shadow turned towards the fight, and his heart dropped. He turned around, just in time to see a sword emerge from his chest.

"No!" Shadow screamed as he leaped straight at Shash.

The Nova sidestepped from Shadow's attack, but Shadow whirled and gave him a hard kick to the gut. Stunned, Shash was thrown back from the unexpected shoulder to the chest.

Shadow turned back to Designer, rushing over to his dying comrade.

"Designer!" Shadow shook him, holding the tech officer in his arms. "Talk to me!"

Designer was moving slowly, clutching his chest. Shadow helped remove his helmet. He was struggling to breath, gasping for air, reaching for the last gulp of air.

"Designer, stay with me!" Shadow pleaded. "I need a medic!" Shadow called out to anyone around him.

"Shadow," Designer gasped, stopping Shadow. "You're gonna make me go deaf before I die." He let out a chuckle.

"I'm not losing you." Shadow stated.

"We both know," Designer coughed, blood starting to spill from his mouth. "What is a killing blow."

"No!" Shadow shook his head seriously and turned his head around, sighting for a medical. "Someone help!"

"Shadow," Designer started gasping for frequently, placing his hand on Shadow's shoulder. "It's okay," Designer said weakly, slowly fading away. "We won. We… won."

Designer went limp, his eyes looking up at endless sky.

"Designer!" Shadow shook the body. "Designer wake up! Please!" Shadow felt a tear roll down his cheek. "Please." He repeated softly.

It was no use. It wasn't Designer anymore. It was just a body. Just another one gone. Another fallen brother. Shadow placed his fingers over Designer's eyelids and shut them, putting Designer's helmet back on and laying him back down carefully.

"Poor Shadow!" Shash taunted. "First Titus, then the grunt rescue squad, and now your tech officer Designer. Everyone seems to die around you."

Shadow felt a burning hatred funnel inside him with those words. He stood up slowly, turning to face Shash.

"Ready to join your friend?" Shash growled.

Shadow only said one thing, feeling all his anger build up within him. He felt like a volcano. Thoughts passed through his head. The rookie Titus, Tested's brave men, deaths of civilians and Atlas soldiers, and most importantly, Designer. Shadow even thought about the harm he and his Nova had inflicted on his team, on his friends, on Blake. At these thoughts, Shadow was bursting with anger, anger turning to every, and the energy turning to flame.

"Shash," Shadow said in the most deceptively calm tone ever. "You are dead."

-Omniscient POV-

As the battle raged, and the clones waged their last stand against Atlesian forces, a wave of energy came from one section of the battlefield. Black flames soon followed, rising up, then showing intensity. With the unexpected sight, the battlefield slowly simmered, and froze, wanting to know what had happened.

Ironwood had stood on his ship, trying to magnify the image of the battle raging below. Team RWBY spared a moment in their pain to see what had happened. The four SBH nearby already knew what had happened.

In the center of the conflict, stood a man in black armor, his hood pulled back, with flames bursting from his body. He stood there, with a look of death, staring straight through the expressionless helmet of the Nova ARC Commander.

Even with the moment of stillness on the battlefield, one brave clone trooper decided to use the opportunity of confusion, shooting down several Atlesian soldiers. Quickly, the battle returned to its pace.

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

All Shadow had in his mind now was rage. He felt his Dark Sword in his hand exploding in black fire. His hood was pulled back, revealing his face, but his body was engulfed in flames.

Shash, not feeling intimidated, charged at Shadow. Shadow blocked the first attack and punched Shash in the face. A burning dent was left behind from the hit, and the Nova Commander reeled over, spinning and lunging. Shadow knocked the blade away and kicked Shash in the gut, another scorch mark being left behind from the attack. Shash swung from low to high and twirled into two slashes. Shadow dodged the first attack and deflected the two others. When Shash stepped into another strike, Shadow smashed the blade out of his hands.

Shash got low, still focusing on the fight, and sprang at Shadow's gut, spearing him in the chest. Shadow fell onto his back and blocked the fist coming for his face. Shash struggled to get on top of Shadow, forcing his hands down. Then his knee came over Shadow's chest, pinning him down. Shash reached the squeezed his hands around Shadow's throat. Shash squeezed as hard as he could, Shadow feeling himself being suffocated. Shadow responded by grabbing the ARC by the wrists, twisting and burning them as he wrenched them off. He slammed his forearm into Shash's knee and threw him off.

Shash got up and spun into a roundhouse kick. Shadow stepped back from it and deflected the next punch. Shadow got under Shash's elbow and got behind him. Shadow spun into a backhand to counter but Shadow slammed his fist at the back of Shash's head. Shadow connected his other fist with Shash's gut, reeled back, and came up into and uppercut. Shash didn't give up. He grabbed Shadow by the shoulders and jumped up, placing his boots against Shadow's chest, then launching himself away from the Shadow Trooper.

Jared 3rd Person POV-

"Yang!" Jared found his girlfriend. He ran over to the injured team RWBY, calling GT with him. "Tested! TJ! Cover shield! GT! Medic!"

Tested and TJ rushed over, crouching a meter in front of the girls, firing at the retreating clones who were desperately fighting back. GT slung his Deece and came up to Blake first, who was obviously bleeding out. He placed his hands on Blake's wounds, concentrating his power. When he lifted his hands, the gashes still remained, but they were sealed, stopping the blood loss.

"I can only do so much." GT sighed. "What about the others?"

Jared scanned the other three. Yang seemed to be in the best condition, other than the most amount of bruising with a few minor cuts. She was sitting beside Blake holding Ruby in her arms. The fifteen year old girl still had tears in her eyes, clutching her right side. Due to there being no blood, Jared suspected broken, maybe shattered ribs. Weiss was fine for the most part, but not as bad Yang, with lots of bruising. She had a scorching hole near her left shoulder, and she was clutching her left arm, seeming as if she couldn't move it without extreme pain.

"GT?" Jared asked his comrade, hoping he could heal them.

"I don't think I can heal interior damage," GT shook his head. "Just cuts."

Jared was relieved when a squad of Atlesian soldiers decided to push up onto their position.

"Jared!" TJ called back. "They are falling back! We need to rush now before they reform their defense!"

Jared looked at Yang, not wanting to leave her side in her condition.

"Go." She beckoned him away. "They need you."

"Are you sure?" Jared hesitated.

"One dead Nova bitch is good enough for me." Yang winked. Jared realized she was referencing Seoul.

"Dead?" Jared asked in surprise.

"You don't think a random group of regular soldier could do this to us, do you?"

"I don't know whether to be surprised that you survived, or disappointed that one girl kicked all of your asses."

Yang smiled as she shook her head, punching Jared in the shoulder. She grimaced in pain as she did so, and Jared put her arm around her to comfort her.

"I'm fine." Yang assured him. "Just go. Finish the fight."

"Jared!" TJ called once more. "Now or never!"

Jared sighed, then gave Yang a quick kiss on the lips.

"I'll be back." Jared promised, then turned to the squad of Atlesian soldiers. "You two," He motioned to two of them. "Stay with the girls. The rest of you, with me."

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Shadow hit Shash in the chest, then the shoulder, then the cheek. Shash whirled over, removed his helmet and bashed it as hard as he could against Shadow's head. The impact cracked the helmet and visor, and Shadow reeled over from the blow. Blurry vision stopped him from blocking the next boot down, punch, and kick. Then Shadow concentrated his flames into his hands, shooting them at Shash. The flames bounced off of Shash's chest plate, but caused him to stumble back. Shadow rolled to his feet, only to have to dodge Shash's re acquired vibrosword. Shadow stepped back and to his right to avoid the vibrating blade. One stroke passed right over his shoulder, leaving a gash in his shoulder plate. Shash spun and side kicked Shadow away.

Shash charged again. This time, Shadow saw his Dark Sword. It laid on the ground, behind the charging Nova. Shadow charged, rolling under the quick swing and grabbing his great weapon. He spun and the two Commanders clashed. Shadow shoved Shash away and swung, Shadow deflecting the blade away and following up with two back and forward slashes. Shadow sidestepped to the right and blocked an overheard swing, then stepped back and blocked a low swing. At one point, Shash put too much weight into a hard swing, Shadow blocked it, then led it to the ground. Shash seemed to be fine with this, because he released one hand, grabbing Shadow by the face, and leading him into a pile of crates. Shash readjusted his grip around Shadow's neck.

"Just die!" The Nova Commander growled. His expression was not masked by anything, the face of Jango Fett flustered with fury.

"No!" Shadow barked as he brought the butt of his blade up at Shash's chin. "Not today!"

Shash stumbled back, panting, breathing heavy in fury, in agony, in utter animal instinct. He gripped his Vibrosword and swung as hard as he could. Shadow transferred his energy to his Dark Sword, striking at Shash's blow. With a loud vibrated explosion, Shash's vibrosword shattered before him. Shash looked at the remaining hilt of his blade, in surprise of what had happened. As soon as he turned back to Shadow, Shadow planted his fist right in the center of the Nova's face, a burn mark left behind. The Nova tried to charge again but Shadow's flames bursted from his hand, hitting Shash in the right shoulder. Shash howled in pain as his right arm melted away.

"That was for Titus!" Shadow snarled. Shadow fired again at the weak Nova, hitting his other arm, burning it clean off. "That was for Designer!"

The Nova Commander stumbled back, in so much pain that he couldn't scream. He fell to his knees, looking up at Shadow in disbelief. Shadow brought his Dark Sword up, holding it as if it were a knife. "And this is for everything else."

Finally, the Nova Commander brought himself to say something, blood starting to flow from his mouth.

"Fuck… you…" Were his last words as Shadow jammed the blade into Shash's mouth, down and his throat into his stomach.

Shadow didn't stop there, igniting his Dark Sword in black flames. Fire started to consume the dying Commander from the inside, melting through his chest, and rising through his eye sockets. With one final discharge of fire, Shash disappeared, leaving no trace that a body wore the smoldering plastoid armor.

The leader of the Nova ARCs, Commander Shashank, was dead.

-Jared 3rd Person POV-

"Steady!" Jared had an entire platoon on him, along with Tested and the Twins, all leveling their rifles at the defense around the Command Center. Ironwood had started bombing them again, and had kicked up dirt and dust into the air, decreasing visibility.

"Steady!" Jared commanded, waiting for the first shot.

Slowly, the dust began to clear, the Atlesian soldiers ready to finish off the remaining clone troopers. Paladins marched closely behind, revealing their heavy dust cannons and opening up their shoulder mounted missile launchers. Then something began to take form in the dust, Jared almost fired, then realized what the clone was doing. He was unarmed, hands raised above his head. Soon, more started to follow behind him.

"Hold fire!" Jared commanded, almost chuckling in joy. "Detain them!"

Jared was happy that they surrendered. He'd seen many clones fight to the end. But, this time, they must have realized they had no hope. Their defenses were broken, their ships were destroyed; there was no point in fighting. Jared heaved a sigh of relief as the clones started removing their helmets, not resisting the Atlesian soldiers as they handcuffed them, then started marching them away.

"A sight for sore eyes." GT remarked, resting his Deece on his shoulder.

"They fought this long," Tested said in sorrow, with a tone of respect. "They fought for their cause."

"Condolences to the fallen." TJ agreed. "A shame it had to be this way."

"Hoorah." Jared muttered with a nod.

"Hoorah." The other three repeated in unison.

"Jared to all channels," Jared opened his commlink to all Atlesian radio channels. "The day is ours. We have won."

-Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi 3rd Person POV-

"What has happened?" Obi-Wan asked in confusion.

The Jedi General stood aboard the bridge of the Venator Class Star Destroyer The fleet of the Third Systems Army was passing through some sort of portal, being transported to reinforce Commander Shash and his regiment. It had unexpectedly halted, for some unknown reason.

"Cody?" Obi-Wan called to his most trusted soldier, Marshal Commander Cody.

"Transport has been halted General." Cody replied, standing over a holotable answer discussing with technicians. "It's not on our end. Scans say the connection was severed from the other side."

"Do we still have contact?" Obi-Wan asked, making his way over to them.

"Negative sir." Cody shook his head.

"Is there any way for us to reestablish the connection?"

"That's just it sir," Cody sighed. "We don't know. All the tech boys that were analyzing the artifact were left behind on the other side."

"Contact our boys on the surface of the planet," Obi-Wan commanded. "Ask them if the-"

"We just got a message from them sir." A technician spoke up. "They reported that the artifact has gone inactive. It's a normal crystal now, and has changed to a clear color."

Obi-Wan looked down in disbelief, stroking his chin. Then he looked up at Cody in disappointment.

"Did we just lose contact with our men?" He asked.

"I think we just lost them in general, sir," Cody answered slowly. "Last transmission said that they were receiving heavy casualties and their fortifications and aerial support was down."

"How many men did we send over there?" Obi-Wan asked slowly.

"A whole legion with three Airborne Companies." Cody replied. "Due to the fact that this was a last minute put together, the Navy crew is minimalized."

Obi-Wan did the math in his head.

"So we just lost about fifteen thousand men, and have no way of helping them?"

Cody bit his lip, then replied with a steady, "Yes sir."

Obi-Wan turned back towards the viewport, looking out the bridge. Nearly fifteen thousand men were lost, and there wasn't a single thing he could do about it. He'd thought losses like this would've been over after the Clone Wars. He was most certainly wrong.

"Cody, prep the fleet for hyperspace," Obi-Wan finally ordered. "Let's get back to Coruscant and support General Skywalker. We still have half a planet to reclaim."

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

Shadow was exhausted, but he made his way over to the evac zone. There, he found platoons of clone troopers, all lined up with their hands tied behind their heads. Atlesian soldiers watched them carefully as they loaded wounded onto dropships and started evacuating squads. Shadow finally made his way over to an open hut with his team. Jared was with Yang, sitting on a table. Yang was leaning on his shoulder while Ruby laid her head in her lap, letting a medical officer look over her wounds. Blake was making sure Weiss was alright helping tie a brace for her arm that seemed to be immobile from a blaster shot to the shoulder, but Shadow noticed Blake's injuries as well. She looked up at Shadow and smiled as she saw him, hopping up to hug him. Shadow accepted the hug and kissed her.

"Are you alright?" Shadow asked, running his hand over her cheek.

"Yes, I'm fine."

"Yeah, we're okay over here too." GT interrupted. He sat beside TJ and Tested on another bench. "Don't fall over yourself checking on your squaddies."

"Nice work on the Acclamators." Shadow sighed and chuckled. "Cutting it a bit close for Ironwood though."

"Can't argue with the results." GT shrugged.

"What happened to Detta?" Shadow directed the comment to Jared.

"Dead." Jared said firmly. "If not from an unsurvivable fall that at the least would break his legs, then the explosion of the Acclamators."

"Seoul?"

"Team RWBY took her down." TJ stated.

"She's either nowhere to be found, or in several." Yang commented with a grin.

"Caught in the blast in a fuel tank detonation." Blake was more descriptive.

"Where's Dessie?" Jared asked. Shadow looked down in sorrow. "Shadow?"

"Designer didn't make it," Shadow answered softly. "I made sure Shash paid for it."

"Oh, Designer…" Jared sighed. "As long as that son of a bitch Nova is dead.

"Incinerated." Shadow stated grimly.

"So it's over then?"

"Yeah."

"What about the portal?"

Shadow sighed, remembering what he had done. He turned to Tested, who looked at him in curiosity.

"I got to the artifact, but the guards stopped me from shutting it down," Shadow explained. "With an entire Republic invasion force coming through, I had to destroy it. Had I not, none of us would be here right now." Shadow looked at Tested. "Sorry. I didn't have a choice."

Tested seemed a bit disappointed, but shrugged off the fact that he couldn't go home.

"It's fine." Tested replied. "You did what you had to."

"If there were any other way-"

"Shadow," Tested stopped him. "I killed a lot of men today, and a lot of them were clones. _Brothers_. I don't think I'd belong back there anyway."

Shadow was surprised at Tested's words. Tested, the true soldier of the group, changing his mind.

"Besides, I haven't had a civvie life before, and to be honest, it doesn't sound all too bad."

Shadow held out his hand, and Tested shook it firmly, with a sign of respect.

"Jared, what'd you think of Tested's performance today?" Shadow asked, smiling at Tested.

"A little rough around the edges, and certainly far from reaching a skill level like moi," Jared explained with a little humor. "But, overall, excellent."

"Affirmative on that." GT and TJ said in unison.

"While this lacks the certain ceremony or official permission, I'd be proud to let you on this SBH team." Shadow gave him a short salute.

"Welcome on board." GT nudged the Sergeant.

"Honored to have you." TJ nodded.

"Is anyone going to give us a congrats on taking down Seoul?" Weiss interjected. "We worked hard on that."

"Next time, don't get beat up." Jared chuckled, then received an elbow from Yang.

"Hello?" An Atlesian soldier entered the hut.

"Yes?" Shadow turned to answer.

"A dropship is prepared to move you nine out of here," The soldier explained. "I'd advise you move with some dispatch. We are really busy with evacuation."

"We'll be on it." Shadow nodded.

Shadow looked back on everyone. All the pain and suffering received by every one of them, the battles and hardships faced, and today, the victory. Now it was over. It was all over.

"Alright," Shadow announced. "Let's go home."

**Frogy here. Thank you all so much for your support over the past year and a half for this story. It was a unbelievable experience that I won't forget. I would like to take this to thank my previous writers Jared and Des for their work on Chapters 6-18 and I really want to give a huge thanks to tested for taking over as writer and bringing a story of this caliber to life and with purpose. Most of all, Thank you Fans for reading, reviewing, etc. Now a few important things to say before we move on. Chapters 2-5 revisions are happening after the release of this chapter. They will be done hopefully around the same time as each other. There will be an epilogue coming in a few days or a week. After that is done myself and Tested will be taking a couple weeks off. After that…. Well Remnant still does need its Guardians now doesn't it?**

**Thanks for everything and catch you later,**

**-Frogy117**


	31. Epilogue

-Mack 3rd Person POV-

"What do you mean by, _gone_?" Mack asked.

Mack stood inside the makeshift camp at Coruscant's industrial district. He and his team had just finished up softening insurrectionist gun positions on the battlefield, and the 501st was just moving in to finish the job. General Kenobi and the Third Systems Army had just left after taking down an insurrectionist fort, then evacuated and deployed to support Commander Shash. The Jedi General was just reporting his the situation to High Command via transmission. Mack was standing over a holotable, as being part of the meeting, speaking with Supreme Commander CC-088, Jedi Generals Master Yoda and Kenobi, along with Commander Cody. Mack struggled to hear the conversation through the choppy signals being made from the thumping of the heavy cannons just outside.

"Come again?" Mack asked politely, not hearing Kenobi's response.

"We have no idea what has happened," General Kenobi explained. "For minutes, we were being transported by the artifact, then it stopped. The artifact has become dormant, an utter crystal now."

"What was the last transmission received from our men there?" Mack asked, running his finger over the deep scar on the side of his jaw.

Kenobi turned to his Marshal Commander Cody, who stepped forward to explain.

"Last transmission received was from ground forces, saying they had lost control of the skies," The Marshal said. "They said they were holding off as long as they could, but they needed us immediately."

"Excuse my intrusion sirs," Mack's second in command, Cat, asked, standing on Mack's flank. "That's fifteen thousand men. We don't just lose contact with them. If there is the slightest chance of surv-"

"None that we know of, Captain." Cody stated Cat's rank as he brought up his point.

"Yeah, but we just can't aband-"

"What my Captain is trying to say," Mack motioned him to stand down. "Is the last time we lost this many men was when we lost the 182nd on Felucia during the Clone Wars. To take another blow like this even after the Clone Wars is, unsettling to say the least."

"The fate of the army sent with Commander Shash," Master Yoda piped in. "Unknown it is. Continue to figure out a way in reaching them, we can, but, focus on the main task at hand, we should."

"Right," General Kenobi shook himself back into business. "Mack, what is the story back on Coruscant?"

"Atomos Squad has softened up the battlefield for the two pronged attack," Mack explained. "But, General Skywalker felt it was… necessary to strike immediately, due to the excellent work we did."

"Typical Anakin," The Jedi General sighed. "Always rushing into fights. What is their progress?"

"Definitely pulling a win. It would be good to get some support to mop things up and secure the zone."

"We're already under way." Kenobi nodded. "We'll deploy as soon as we reach orbit."

"Is that it?" CC-088 asked, seeming rather frustrated with the loss.

"I believe so." Mack replied.

"We'll let you get some rest Mack," Obi-Wan said. "I can imagine softening those gun positions weren't easy."

"Thank you," Mack nodded. "All in a day's work. General Mack, out."

Mack shut the link and nodded at the 501st Tech officer manning the station. He then strode towards the makeshift barracks for Atomos Squad.

"So," Cipher was the first one to greet, sitting on his bunk. "What's the story on Shadow?"

"MIA." Mack sighed.

"Yeah, MIA, along with the fifteen thousand troopers he took with him." Cat added.

"No contact at all?" the Shadow trooper named Faman asked, adjusting the sights on his DC-17M.

"Nada."

"Seriously?" Cipher crossed his arms.

"Serves him right for leaving." Slayer stood in the corner, fiddling with his vibroblade.

"Hey," Cipher stood up in defence. "He didn't leave. He was probably trapped."

"Trapped?" Slayer scoffed. "Shash came back. What was stopping him? The way I see it, he went AWOL."

"Can it Slayer!" Reker, the heavy weapons specialist growled, looking over his T-21 and thermal grenades. "Shadow's no traitor."

"Shash is a slimy ass anyway." Cat agreed.

"Hey, leave Slayer alone," Cipher started a joke. "His brain is premature. They took him a day too early out of his growth jar."

"More like a year." Reker piped in.

The squad laughed at the joke, Slayer responding by slowly flipping them the bird.

"Oi, that's enough." Mack commanded, and the room went silent.

"He's trashing Shadow." Cat protested.

"Everyone here has an opinion," Mack stated. "And everyone here is free to speak their minds."

The SBH in the room didn't say a word, only looking down in shame, as a sign of respect.

"Now," Mack continued. "I want you all to get some rest. After the Third Systems Army arrives, General Kenobi and Skywalker might get ballsy about pushing onto another Insurrectionist front. They'll need us to soften the battlefield if they decide to do so, and I don't want any of you falling asleep on the job, understood?"

All SBH immediately stood up completely straight, saluting as they said, "Yes sir!", in unison.

Mack nodded, then started to stride out of the room. He had just exited the doorway when Cat caught him by the arm, leaning on to speak quietly.

"Yes?" Mack whispered, knowing he was trying to be discreet.

"I just wanted to know."

"Know what?"

"Your view on the situation." Cat stated. "You know Shadow more than any of us. You helped train him personally, as you did some of us. I just want to know, regardless of evidence, what do you think?"

Mack took a few moments before answering.

"I don't know." He said carefully. "Shadow is many things, but he is not the one to do the things he's been accused of."

"Is that what you believe?"

"It's what my gut tells me." Mack answered certainly. "And I'd follow my gut anywhere."

"What are you going to do?"

"Ever heard the saying; _Trust but verify_?"

"Nope."

"Think about it." Mack said. "Then you'll know my answer."

Cat looked down, confused by Mack's words. Mack didn't want Cat to ask too many questions, especially questions that Mack could not or did not want to answer.

"Get some rest, Cat." Mack patted his shoulder then strode off onto another task.

-Tested 3rd Person POV-

Tested was rubbing the dirt off his SBH helmet with a cloth, already done scrubbing his armor. He sat in leisure clothes, wearing blue jeans, a white t-shirt with a thick light blue stripe passing through the the middle. On top, he wore a light brown racer jacket, liking the formidable feel, along with blue and white runners.

Tested was sitting in team RWBY's dorm, as team TJGJ's dorm still needed to be renovated.

Weiss sat on her bunk, dressed in her normal attire with a support around her arm along with a bacta patch over the blaster wound. She was on her scroll, looking through information.

Ruby was lying down on her bunk, in her night attire, bandages and a cast around her mid torso. Doctors had said she would be fine in about two weeks, three at most. But with the amazing power of bacta, Tested knew that estimated time would be shrunken by at least a half.

Yang was the one who surprised Tested, curled up into a ball on her bunk, leaning on Jared as Jared was whispering something in her ear. Jared wore leisure clothes as well, just wearing dark jeans and a black long sleeve shirt. Yang seemed almost, if not fully recovered. Tested marveled at the powers of aura, with its healing and defensive capabilities, being told he'd had discovered his semblance. He liked the ability to shield, to keep people's or himself out of harm's way. It felt good.

Then the twins entered the room. The two wore corresponding fleece jackets.

"Nice look there Tested," GT commented as he entered. "Suits you."

"Shadow gave me some lien." Tested explained. "Only bought what I needed."

"You know what we have access to, right?" TJ asked.

"Practically an unlimited supply of wealth due to a hacker program," Tested answered. "Stealing, isn't it?"

"It's not _stealing_," GT defended. "It's working through a loop in the system."

"More like cheating the system." Weiss added without looking up.

"I don't know if you've noticed, Tested," Jared joined in. "We don't exactly have money."

"If I'm gonna stay here with you guys, I'd rather have it on an honest living." Tested explained.

"Oh, and how do you plan on doing that?"

"Well, you can go find a job, like normal people." Weiss stated.

"Says the heiress." Yang piped in.

Weiss scoffed and went back to her scroll.

"Doesn't sound like a terrible idea." Tested agreed. "Know anyone hiring a genetically perfected soldier trained from the age they could walk?"

"You'd be surprised what you could find on the shady side of town." Yang looked up, an idea in her head.

"You seem quieter than usual Ruby." Jared changed the subject.

"Trying not to laugh." Ruby replied from her laid down position. "It hurts."

"I guess you could say your chest can't take me _cracking_ a joke." Yang chuckled.

"That was horrible Yang," Weiss sighed. "Even for your standards."

"You know what the Ice Queen said to the peasant?" Yang joked. "_Shut up you Dunce!_"

Ruby let out a pained burst of laughter from her bunk.

"So, joining us in classes Tested?" Jared asked. "I'd say after that, Ozpin'd allow it."

"I don't see why not." Tested shrugged, inspecting his cleaned helmet.

"It's a lot to catch up on." Weiss warned.

"You clearly don't know how intelligent clones are bred to be, don't you?" Tested challenged.

"A lot of clones are trained to have close to, if not perfect photographic memory." Jared added.

"I question the science behind that statement." Weiss raised her eyebrow.

"Fifty lien that I get a passing grade on the next pop quiz." Tested wagered. "I'll show up on the day."

"Deal." Weiss smirked. "It'll be nice having to wait for that once you get a job."

"Don't count on it." Tested winked.

"Speaking of classes," TJ interrupted. "We start up in two weeks, making up for injuries and funerals that may occur due to the recent fight."

"Ozpin expects us to catch up on days we missed." GT added with a frown.

"Catching up on two weeks worth of classes?" Jared gasped. "Well, shit."

"Where is Shadow?" GT asked.

"Where do you think?" Jared replied.

"Out with Blake near the fields." Tested answered, already knowing.

"Rhetorical question, Tested." Jared sighed. "Rhetorical question."

-Shadow 3rd Person POV-

The sun was low, hitting the river at just the right angle, getting the nice warm, orange shine at the water. The clouds had softened their undertones into pink bellies, and the tangerine coloured sky slowly faded to a navy blue, which in turn was darkening into the black of night. Stars were visible at this evening. The scene reminded Shadow of the sight he saw during their search for Shash's base of operations.

_Shash_.

Shadow disregarded any thought of the Nova ARCs. They were dead. They were gone.

Shadow sat in the grass, wearing leisure clothes. A grey collared shirt with black jeans felt natural on the occasion with Blake snuggling next to him. There weren't many trees around them, as it was an open field on a slope leading down to a splitting delta of rivers and streams. Shadow could sit here forever and admire its beauty if not for the Faunus sitting next to him.

"I like this spot." Shadow smiled. "We should come here more often."

"I like it." Blake replied.

"Kinda feels good to be in regular clothes once again." Shadow sighed.

"How do you feel?" Blake asked.

"Is it not obvious?" Shadow placed his arm around her side, coming closer.

"Shadow, what happened on the battlefield?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I'm talking about." Blake straightened her sitting position and looked at him square in the eyes. Shadow knew what she was referencing to.

Shadow sighed. "I… destroyed the artifact and stopped Republic reinforcements from arriving," He started. "It was a long fight in, and when I got there there was nothing I could do to stop the artifact without destroying it. I made my way outside, back into combat, and got there just in time to see…"

Shadow paused. He had gotten there in time to see Designer die.

"After _it_ happened," Shadow brushed on. "I was just... angry. I was angrier than I ever was before. It felt like I was burning up inside."

"You weren't only burning up on the inside." Blake added.

"I don't know." Shadow shook his head. "Ozpin tells me it might be something different with my semblance. He wants me to meet with him and Glenda sometime every week to find out what it is."

"You were just… angry?"

"Angry, depressed, betrayed, you name it." Shadow shrugged. "That's all I felt."

"And how do you feel now?" Blake asked curiously.

"You know what?" Shadow sighed, then took a long pause, taking a deep breath and just enjoying the scenery. "It's over. I feel at peace."

Blake smiled and kissed him on the cheek.

"That's the answer I wanted to hear." She said.

"You know," Shadow chuckled. "The downside of this, is we gotta come back to school."

"Not exactly a bad thing when they teach you to become a warrior." Blake shrugged.

"Hey, I spent most of my life in school. Going back to it isn't exactly the greatest thing."

Blake let out a short laugh. After the moment, Shadow changed to a more serious tone.

"You know Blake," He started. "For the first time in a long time, the end of the day is bright."

Blake clasped her hand around Shadow's. The two started to kiss, leaning into each other more and more, Shadow starting to feel down Blake's body. All the while, Shadow thought. He thought about the future. He thought about the happy, calm life he'd be living here, with no interference from his past.

_All our troubles are over_.


End file.
